Misty
by Lady Aduka
Summary: Beyblading...with a dangerous obsession. So dangerous that it can kill. -DISCONTINUED-
1. Prologue: The Murderer

*** MISTY ***

by: DarkTwilightZero

===============================================================

DISCLAIMER: First of all, I don't own Beyblade or any other related material. This story of mine was inspired by the box-office hit, "THE RING", so there might be some similarities, and I don't own them either. I, however, do own Samantha and Tani Brown. "Misty" is a suspense-thriller story, (or at least that's how I planned it to be), hence the rating. Enjoy! ~DTZ

===============================================================

*** PROLOGUE ***

The Murderer

            18-year old Samantha is the best player the BB Training Bldg. has to offer. At a young age, she already surpassed her seniors and excelled in every training the facilitators gave her. Her fellow colleagues admired her for this, and was the envy of the entire place. It was said that she even rivaled the skills of the future phoenix blader Kai, who was still a mere infant at that time.

            Samantha is what you can call the perfect female. With her fair skin, her chocolate brown eyes and her wavy black hair, she can catch the attention of every boy that passes her way. Add to these are her height: 5"7, and her cheery disposition. Because of these, she captured the heart of every male blader in the facility. Including a certain Tani Brown. Tani is the 2nd best blader next to Samantha. Tall, fair and handsome, his skills in beyblading is just another addition to his seemingly naughty disposition. Girls would often dream about him as their boyfriend.

            But not Samantha...

            Not the woman that he chases after...

            If you could only see how Tani fancies her, it's like that she's his whole life...

            In fact, she really is. You would find him in his room writing love letters to Samantha everyday, every now and then. Because of him, Samantha receives a bunch of them almost every week. A hundred, to be exact. 

            "If only you'd respond to my love, I swear I will be the man you always dreamed of. I'll make you the happiest girl on the face of the earth," Tani said to her in one of his letters. Sighing, she crumpled the paper and threw it into the garbage can. "That boy never knew when to give up."

            Three knocks on her door broke the romantic atmosphere that almost embraced her. "Samantha, it's time for your daily training," said the man outside. She rose from her bedside and went for the door. "But he's nothing compared to my dreams...I'll be the best blader the world has ever seen!" Little did she know that, the time she closed her bedroom door to train will be her last...

ooooOOOOoooo

            "Hey Samantha!" Tani greeted, just as she finished blading. She could feel her eyebrows jerk at the sound of his voice. "How's it going?"

            She turned around to face the boy, not wanting to ruin his day. "It's fine, thanks for asking," Samantha replied with a tone of boredom. "What's the matter now, Brown?"

            The boy nervously scratched his head. "Um...did you received the letters that I sent yesterday?"

            "Yes," she replied flatly. "Is that all? Listen, I have to go - "

            "WAIT! Um...if you don't mind, would you like to battle with me?" he asked.

            "What?" Samantha almost squeaked before she threw herself into laughter. "We've battled lots of times before and you never stood a chance against me, and now, you want to battle me again?" Then a thought suddenly flashed in her mind. Maybe if I defeated him again, I can tell him to stop bugging me, she thought. Her expression of annoyance turned into a sly smile. "Sure. Let's do it, but if I win, can I ask you a favor?"

            "Of course!" Tani excitedly replied. "Any favor will be fine, as long as it's for you, baby!" He gave her his trademark naughty smirk. Samantha gave a fake smile before rolling her eyes. They went to the big arena in the middle of the training hall. Tani gave the rules. "This will be a one-round battle. Is that fine with you?" The former nodded. 

            "Okay! Let's go...3, 2, 1, LET IT RIP!" Tani signaled. Their blades bounced into the arena and charged furiously at one another. His blade threw attack after attack at Samantha. 

            "Hmm…you've gotten better," she remarked, "but you won't stand a chance against me! Let's finish this quickly!" And in one blink of an eye, Tani's blade was thrown outside the arena, landing with a crash at his heels. Satisfied with her victory, Sam picked up her still spinning beyblade and faced him. "Hey, you've still haven't forgotten our deal, do you? If I win, I can ask you a favor…and that is…" She clutched her bey and bit her lip in frustration. "…THAT YOU STOP BUGGING MY LIFE FOREVER! I DON'T LOVE YOU, TANI BROWN, I DON'T EVEN LIKE YOU! STOP FANTASIZING ABOUT ME AND GET ON WITH YOUR DAMN LIFE! STOP SENDING ME LETTERS, CAUSE IF YOU DON'T KNOW, YOU'RE JUST A HASSLE TO MY DREAMS! OKAY?!"

            Tani stood there shocked, his mind and heart shattered by her explosion. His face darkened, nodded slightly and walked away. Samantha watched his figure disappear in the darkness of the corridor. "Now that I've gotten him off my back, it's time that I focus on my dream…and that is to become the best blader in the world!" she said to herself.

ooooOOOOoooo

            Back at his room, he looked to see a rather serious picture of Samantha on his study table. Irritated, he smashed it right through his window while crying out loud, "Darn you, Samantha! I swear I will make you pay! You've ruined my life for what you had done…and I swear you won't get away with it..!" 

            Looking at the shattered pieces of glass on the floor, he came up with a dark plan…and with this, he's sure that he'll have her all to himself… Chuckling evilly, Tani's laughter echoed in the dark spacious bedroom, along with a chill that can run down anybody's spine.

            11:00 pm… Samantha was at the library downstairs, reading her favorite blue book in order to fall asleep. She was at the halfway of the book when she felt her eyelids drooping slowly. "I must be getting tired…" Reaching for her pockets, she pulled out a shiny blue ribbon and placed it at the middle of the book as her mark. Standing with a shrill squeak from her chair, and with sleepiness conquering her body, she placed the book along with the file information of the building, including the bladers that trained in it.

            Along the way to her bedroom, she spotted Tani waiting for her beside the door. 

            *Yawn* "Tani, what are you doing here?" she asked groggily. She got an evil chuckle as a reply, and the next thing she knew, her lights went out. Samantha didn't even felt that she was carried by him all the way to his bedroom, before finally raping her. (A/N: =shudder= Scary! At least for me…what do you guys think? O.o;)

ooooOOOOoooo

            It was unusually misty that night. Tani's heavy footsteps could be heard at the very basement of the facility. In his arms was a great long bundle, with Samantha's body in it. His eyes were as dark as ever, for after raping her, he took the long sharp piece of glass that was broken and killed her, plunging it right at her heart. Finding a hollow yet big hole in one of the walls, he placed the dead Sam's back against it. And before going upstairs, he sealed the wall with some conveniently placed bricks and cement. 

            "You should have lived long Samantha," he said to her, "if you only accepted my love, this would never happened." He leaned closer to the wall. "And guess what? Now that you're gone, I'll be the best blader in this building now! Well, good for me ain't it? Ha ha! You're dead now, Sam! Too bad that you can't watch me as I make my way to the top!" He took the gas lamp that he carried downstairs  and headed for the door. "Rest in peace, baby…"

            The sound of the wooden door slamming put a close to the legendary blader that was used to be unbeatable in the building. Nothing could be heard in the basement, other than the squeaking of the rats…and the desperate cry of revenge of Samantha's soul.

ooooOOOOoooo

            Three months have passed, and the mysterious disappearance of Sam was forgotten in due time. It was then that Tani was now considered as the best blader in the building. Opportunity knocked in his life one day, when the officials announced him as the chosen representative who will battle in a certain beyblading tournament. "His skills just surpassed those of Samantha's," said his trainer, and tapped Tani's shoulder. "He's best suitable for this. Make us proud, Tani. The competition will be tomorrow. You've succeeded all of the training and guidance that we gave you. I'm sure you can do it."

            "I won't disappoint you, boss," he assured with a smirk. "I swear I won't lose."

            Time passed by swiftly, and soon, the clock chimed 11:00 in the evening…

            "Well, I guess my bey's ready for the competition tomorrow. I should take a rest now." He yawned as he lifted the covers of his bed and slumped himself underneath it. Seconds later, he felt strange…like his room was inside a gigantic freezer. "Strange…I thought that the aircon's set to not so chilling," he thought. As he checked the switches, which was near his mirror, he saw a strange white woman, with long hair standing right behind him in its reflection. Terrified, he turned around, slowly…

            "S-Samantha?" he staggered to speak. The woman raised her head, as the hair covering her face parted, showing her dark brown eyes… (A/N: eek! Samara! O) Tani's pupils dilated, as the figure '_whooshed_' her way in front of him. "NNOOOOOO!!!" 

ooooOOOOoooo

            "...that's right, officials, we'll cancel our participation in the tournament...yes, you've heard right, Tani isn't feeling very well," said the trainer, and covered the phone's mouthpiece as he watched his student being carried by the doctors of the Asylum for the Mentally Damaged. He was yelling like crazy, trying to free himself from the strap jacket that they slipped on him, and yelling something like, "HELP! SHE'S GONNA GET ME! SHE GOING TO KILL ME! AAAHHH!" He was crying maniacally as he was put into the ambulance. All of the bladers inside the building heard what happened to him, and can't help feeling sorry for him. 

            Except one…Samantha…for deep under the basement, her soul laughs hysterically for what happened to her murderer. Now, no one can beat her, the best blader in the world. No one can steal her dream anymore…

            And ten years have passed…

========================================

So, how was it? Was it good? Please review and kindly tell me what you think. Flames are allowed, as long as they don't make me cry too much! Heck, after all I've slaved over this. Please be kind! Review!


	2. The Gathering

*** MISTY ***

by: DarkTwilightZero

=====================================================

Notes: Hey there! This is the first chapter of Misty. To give you a clue on why I wrote that prologue before, it's because I want you to get the plot of the story, so I explained there about how it all began. That way, you won't get confused when the succeeding chapters are up. Then again, I don't own anything. I just liked its inspiration, "The Ring". Samara rules!!! Hehehee…. Aniweiz, enjoy!

P.s. Kudos to my first reviewer, Kawaii Tenshi!!! ^______^

*** CHAPTER ONE ***

The Gathering

The weather that day was a sunny one, as 3 tourist buses halted just outside the BB. Training Bldg., now known as the leading building in developing awesome bladers. The officials invited the 5 most talented and renowned teams in the world, to experience the luxury and comfort that they had to offer. Each of the buses has its own logo…

The first bus was…

"Wow! We're finally here!" 14-yr. old Tyson hopped down the steps and stretched his arms. "This place is huge!" Following him were his teammates, and they form the Bladebreakers. Max, Kenny, Rei and Kai got off the bus and stood beside him. 

"The invitation said that only the 5 most renowned teams are invited," Kenny said to them.

"Does that mean we're VIP or something?" Max asked.

"Exactly!"

"This is so cool!!!"

Rei looked at the other buses & had already guessed the other teams. He smiled,  as the 2nd bus' passengers came down, and looked at the pink-haired girl that was with them. "The White Tigers were also invited, guys. Look!" he pointed.

Then another team came down. "Hey, it's the All-Starz!!" Max cried and pointed to them.

"This makes sense," Rei told them. "The invitation said that only the 5 best teams. That means the other two are…"

"Look! Cool sets of wheels!" Tyson cried. And he was right; four limosines parked in front of the building's gates. "The Majestics!" The bladers watched as the four rich guys stepped outside and scanned the building from head to toe. The redhead member of their team, Johnny first gave a comment… "What the?! we're invited to tour this antique building? Nuh uh! This is a waste of my time." 

"Oh c'mon, Johnny! You have't seen the inside of this building yet! It's too early to give your conclusions!" Oliver told him.

"Or rather rude remarks," Max filled in for him. "Hello guys! Long time no see!"

"You guys were invited too?" Tyson asked. "Cool! This is like a great reunion!"

"Great, the runts are also here!" 

"Exclude us in their category!" Both the White Tigers and the All-Starz chorused. Tyson let out a pout. "Hey!"

"The five best teams, huh?" Eddy dribbled his basketball and looked at the others. 

"Well, four out of the five best teams are present," Kevin told them. "Who's the last team?"

Kai glared as a black helicopter with the Biovolt logo flew on top of their heads, while a man threw down a rope ladder, dangling about 2 meters or so from the ground. Four boys climbed down, boys that the Bladebreakers leader knew pretty well. It has been 3 months ever since the World Tournament ended, since he last saw their cold faces. The redhead leader of the group got down first and eyed the early guests. His cobalt blue eyes glowed with fury as his gaze met Kai's.

"It's the Demolition Boys," he told the others. 

"OH NO! Not them!" Tyson whined. 

"I've never forgotten about them," Lee snarled, his body shaking in anger. "Those monsters!"

" 'Demolition Boys' spells trouble!" Emily cried as she clutched her tennis racket with her beyblade attached to it. "This means a beybattle!" 

"Save your energy, glassgirl!" Tala taunted. "We're in no mood to battle with you!"

"That is, if you pissed us off…" Bryan gave them a cold glare, sending a chill down Emily's spine. Max growled at the sight of this, and yelled, "Won't you guys ever learn?!" 

"I'm afraid not, Max." Mariah scowled. "What brings you here, Demolition Boys?!"

"We're one of the 5 teams invited here. We carry a order from Boris," Spenced replied gruffly.

"And what is that order?" Robert demanded. The former eyed him coldly. "It's none of your business whatever it is."

A creak from the drawbridge of the building drew their attention, as it came down slowly, showing the way inside. The 5 teams saw a woman clad in black, standing at the end to welcome them. (A/N: She looks like Nurse Joy in Pokemon the Movie 1. You know, when she was hypnotized by Mewtwo. Yup, that one…creepy.) Her hair was hidden in her fairly weird hat, and her eyes seemed to show no emotion. "Greetings to you all from the BB Training Building. Your presences were greatly anticipated. Please take your belongings and follow me inside. The head president awaits you…"

Chapter one done!!!! *evil chuckle* Now the real evil starts at the preceeding chapters… Samatha's vengeance's going to rise again!!! HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!! 

Please review…or you're gonna get it in 7 days… (geez…I watch Ring too much…heheheh :)


	3. Getting Acquainted

*** MISTY ***

by: DarkTwilightZero

DTZ's notes: Hello! It's me again! Today, I want to introduce you all to my buddy here who happens to be my sister, Reon!

Reon: (smiles and waves like an idiot)

Okay…she's 4 years younger than me and she INSISTED that she'd join in my notes, so here she is! Reon's gonna accompany me throught the "Misty" saga!!! So Reon, why don't you do the disclaimer?

Reon: Okay! DarkTwilightZero doesn't own Beyblade, it belongs to its respective owners most especially to Aoki Takao. (Holds a sign saying, 'I'm sooo good at giving disclaimers!!! DTZ's lame!!!)

(random readers gag)

Hey, what did you just said?! Ahem…this is the second chapter…I-

Reon: ITADAKIMASU!!!

Oi!!!

**Chapter Two:**

Getting Acquainted

The teams were mesmerized by the uniqueness and luxury of the building. Sure, it looked creepy and all at the outside, but the inside! It looked like some sort of a grand palace hall. Tyson and the others felt like little ants inside. 

O.O "This place is huge!!!" he gasped. "Look at that large chandelier!!!"

"You are now in the grand hall of the BB Training Bldg. I'll show you your rooms and the facilities later. Right now, the head president awaits your arrival. Kindly wait here…" and she walked away, leaving eerie silence behind. The stillness of everything sent chills down Kenny's spine. "Guys, this place gives me the creeps…"

Oliver looked at Enrique, who looked regretful. "What's the matter, Enrique?"

"Damn, I forgot to ask her name!" He told him while running a hand through his light blond hair. "She's hot for my taste! Just loosen the formal outfit."

¬¬ "You never change, Enrique…" Robert sighed. He looked as the head president walked to greet them all. Somehow, he resembled Mr. Dickenson, only a bit thinner. He also wore the same glasses that the old man had and is also bald. According to his analizations, he's a bit taller (A/N: and much healthier! ^_^).

"Greetings! We've been waiting for your arrival, beybladers! We at BB Training Bldg. are honored to have you as our guests. I'm Mr. Watt, the head president of this training facility." He referred to the lady behind him. "And she's Joy, the one who greeted you outside…"

Oliver nudged Enrique. "Heard that, lover-boy? Her name's Joy…" He whispered.

"Don't worry, I'm making a mental note of that!"

"What, are you going to ask her out or something?"

"Yup! ^___^"

"…who happens to be the product of our upgraded technology," Mr. Watt concluded. The teams were confused. "…product of technology? I beg your pardon sir, but what do you mean?" Emily asked.

The old man laughed. "Ha ha ha! Joy's our proudest work…she's an AI. She helps in the maintenance and training around here, instructing our trainees with skills like that of a human teacher."

"An AI?!?" Enrique shrieked. The guys looked at him surprised by his sudden yell. "What's the matter, sir?" Mr. Watt asked. 

"Nothing…nothing's the matter." -.-;

Mr. Watt personally supervised the tour for them. On one of the corridors, they passed a large portrait of a girl, around 18, holding a beyblade. And then, the inevitable question rose: "Who's she, Mr. Watt?" Mariah asked.

"Oh, she's the best blader of this facility 10 years ago. Her name's Samantha, and for some unknown reasons she disappeared 10 years ago. (A/N: Yup, they didn't investigate her disappearance. Hm…I wonder why, guesses anyone?? ) Her skills in beyblading are considered a legend and shall be remembered forever in this facility, as long as this facility exists…" He finished his sentence dramatically, the memory of her smile still present in his mind. 10 years ago, he was the one who trained Sam to become the best blader. And yes, he still felt sad about the loss of his best student.

"You must be tired and all from the long trip. Joy," he mentioned to the female robot standing behind them, "please show them their rooms."

"With pleasure, Mr. Watt. Kindly follow me…"

"This place is huge!!!" Tyson's childish blue eyes surveyed their room where their team's going to stay. It's like those hotel rooms that they were staying in before, only a bit bigger. Just outside their window lies a beautiful view of a lush field. "Awesome!!! The scenery is great!!!"

"The people here are hospitable, don't you think so guys?" Max asked.

"Yup, and not only that, Mr. Watt told us that we can check out their facilities and test out their arenas!!! Isn't that cool?!" Kenny exclaimed, tears falling from his eyes like waterfalls. "BB Training Bldg. is so cool!"

"Wait a minute, where's Kai?" Rei's amber eyes scanned the room, but there was no sight of the blue-haired blader. "I thought he was with us a while ago."

"Who cares about him?! Let's just leave that sourpuss alone!" Tyson sneered, receiving glares from everybody in the room.

"Tyson! That's not nice!"

Their first day was occupied with tours and demonstrations. While the others were checking out the facilities in the training center, the biggest room in the building, Kenny was at one side typing his findings. "This place is the coolest one I've ever seen! It really rivals those of the beyblade facilities that we've seen in America." Suddenly, out of the blue, the image of Samantha flashed back in his mind. "But that blader Samantha, if she's their best blader, why would she disappear all of a sudden? Hm…something's going on around here…"

Okay! Second chapter's done!!! I would like to take this opportunity to thank all of my reviewers!!! Love and peace to Kawaii Tenshi!!! ^______^ Minnasan, don't worry about your favorite characters dying…no one's going to die in my fic!!! Except one, no make that two or three… who, you ask?! Heheheh….not gonna tell, you have to read all of the upcoming chapters to find out!!! I'm so evil…. Heheheheh…. 

Reon: Oh shut up, onee-chan! Hm… (puts on a Samara costume, and in a really spooky voice…) _Reviews readers! Or you'e gonna get it in 7 days…hehehe…_

*WHACK* Sorry about that…tonikaku, hope to hear from you soon! Ja ne!!! ^______^


	4. The Girl In The Mirror

*** MISTY ***

by: DarkTwilightZero

DTZ's notes: Konnichiwa minnasan!!! Ogenki desuka?! ^____^ (starts doing a ballet dance)

Reon: Yareyare, she's on sugar high again…that's the 10th time! Onee-san, you'd better stop eating sweets for a while!

Max: Yeah, she's consuming my one month supply of chocolates!!! *pouts* She's so meannn!!!

Kai: ¬.¬U  Shut the h*** up, you frickin' people!!! .

Reon: What the… DarkTwilightZero!!! Stop spinning around! (whacks sister with a frying pan)

DTZ: @.@

Rei: Now you did it, Reon-san… who'll do the disclaimer now that our great *cough* authoress is out cold?!

Reon: (starts poking fingers) Anou saa….

Random readers: Shut up and get on with the story!!! We want some Samantha!!! (throws ripe tomatoes at DTZ-gumi…one hits DTZ flat on the face…)

Tyson: (catches one tomato) Finally, my salad's ingredients are complete!!!

DTZ: What the…@.@?

Bladebreakers/Reon: Hurry up now!!!

DTZ: Okay!!! *sigh* I don't own Beyblade or any other related material…Samantha's my own made character…jeez, I feel a little woozy…

Kai: -.-U This is the 3rd chapter…

Rei/Reon/Takao/Max: Itadakimasu!!! ^__^

**Chapter Three:**

The Girl In The Mirror 

Last chapter, the beybladers were touring the whole of BB Training Bldg., and was introduced to their greatest blader Samantha. While the other teams were checking the training arena, Kenny can't help but wonder why Samantha would disappear all of a sudden…

The 5 teams went to their respective rooms after a fun day of checking out the training arena. Mr. Watt promised that they can come and train there anytime they wish. Tyson was so overwhelmed with this that he totally pissed out Kai because of his noisiness and chaos started in the Bladebreakers' room. The ruckus only stopped when the other teams *literally* threw stuff inside their room, urging them to shut up.

"It's Kai's fault!" Tyson whined at them, receiving replies thru raised eyebrows. Kai's left fist landed on his head with an "OW!" from the chubby blader. "Leave me out of this and get some sleep!" He rubbed his sore head.

"Chi, you guys still haven't changed," Lee told them, and left them to get some sleep himself. 

At the Demolition Boys' room…

"I can't help but think, why would Boris give us an order like that?" Ian questioned, checking on his beyblade. He looked at his teammates: Tala was leaning on the wall with his eyes closed (like Kai), Spencer sitting on his bed looking all serious, and Bryan looking out the window.  

"It's better not to question his authority. I'd follow him if I were you," Spencer told him, cracking his knuckles. 

"Strange though," Tala remarked, "When he gave us that order, he looked desperate as if he wants to know the ups and downs of this place."

Bryan gave his own point of view. "What would be so interesting about this building in the first place?!"

…

"It looks just like Robert's castle!" Enrique exclaimed. He was checking his reflection in the mirror as his other teammates were relaxing themselves. Robert and Johnny were playing chess, while Oliver was watching them battle, drinking tea. The purple-haired blader smirked, as he made his final move, pissing Johnny off for the 10th time. "Checkmate."

"NOT AGAIN!" Johnny scowled. "Take that move back!"

"I won't. Accept your defeat."

"Face it Johnny, you don't stand a chance against Robert and his abilities when it comes to chess," Oliver said chuckling a bit. 

Enrique faced his teammates. "Hey did you guys hear what I said earlier? I said this place looks just like Robert's castle!!"

"We heard you, Enrique!" Johnny scowled at his direction. 

"Then why didn't you say anything?"

"Cause it's not that all important, that's why."

*sigh* "You guys are boring me out…"

Mr. Watt was passing the corridor where Samantha's portrait was displayed. He took a while to have a glance at it, fear and regret visible in his eyes. It was 11:00 in the evening, and all the teams were asleep. Rubbing his wrinkled forehead, he mumbled, "I should go now. Goodnight, Samantha…wherever you are…"

But little did they knew that deep down under the basement, right at the spot where her body was hidden a decade ago…

A voice was crying out…

A voice of a girl…within the walls of her cruelly arranged grave…

Her time has finally arrived…

_"…help me…somebody…"_

CRASH! 

The Bladebreakers' windows burst open, its white curtains moving at the mercy of the midnight wind. The noise alerted the still-awake Kenny, his body shivering with fright and terror. The effect of the almost thin fabric of the curtains didn't help; it gave him an illusion of a white lady standing beside them…

"G-gulp," he swallowed. "This place is creepy!" O.O He stood up to close the window, when his sight of hearing perceived something…

A creepy voice…

Kenny paled in an instant, but he controlled his sudden urge to shout. Who knows what he might stir up! Gathering all of his courage, he went outside their room, and felt his knees shake when he noticed that the corridor was dark.

PITCH dark…

He can't hear a thing, except the howling of the winds outside the building. "This place is freaking me out. Is anybody awake at this late hour?" Thinking positively, he smiled a weak smile, trying to cheer himself up. "Maybe it's just me…I must be getting tired due to the excitement earlier…" He took a deep breath, and walked the corridor, clasping his hands together saying, "There's nothing to be afraid of…there's nothing to be afraid of…"

His eyes (A/N: Does he even have one? Honestly, I'm beginning to think that his nerdy glasses are HIS eyes…anyway back to the story..) caught sight of an old-fashioned door at the end of the hallway. Wait a minute…was that door there earlier? Kenny doubted that he noticed that, as far as he can remember, that door wasn't there…anyway, curious as a cat, he turned the rusty doorknob and seached for the switch…

CLICK.

"A bathroom?" he wondered. There was a pretty moldy bathtub at one side, a seemingly old sink and a wide square mirror. He assumed that it measured 23" or so, judging from its area. It's big enough to see your whole physique! The room's source of light was just hanging carelessly at the center of the ceiling, swaying to and fro.

"Look at me, I'm getting pale already. Maybe I should follow Rei's advice, that I should limit my Internet researches." He was relieved to find that the faucet's still working, and he took the opportunity to calm down his already tensed mind…

It surprised Kenny when a cold gust of wind passed righ behind him. _Funny, the door's closed, as well as the windows… _he thought. (A/N: Now to make this scene really, really creepy, insert a really, really background music here, for example, one song from "the Ring" soundtrack. :-D) Looking up, the shock of his life came to him when he saw a young lady standing just behind him, about a meter away. Her long black hair was covering her entire face, and she was wearing a flowing white dress, its seams ripped at many places, and entirely splattered with drops of blood. Her skin was deathly pale, and by the way her head was tilted, she was staring straight AT him…

Kenny whimpered, tears starting to flow from his eyes. "M-mommy!" He looked behind him slowly…hesitating…

…and found that she was not there…no girl in the bathroom…

…but when he looked back at the mirror, she was back…

…STANDING SUPER NEAR HIM!!!

"What the-?!" He turned around, and caught her cold, creepy eyes…he could feel her scary aura…until he can't take it anymore…and the whole facility heard his cry of fright…

"AAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!!!!!!!"

"Whoa! What was that?!" Max bolted awake, trying to focus the scene in front of him. His sleepy eyes caught sight of the wide open bedroom door, the dark corridor, then the swaying curtains.  His ears heard a frightened scream from a very familiar person. "Kenny?" he asked to himself. He went outside and yup, he saw him running through the corridor screaming like a madman. "HELP SOMEBODY!!!!"

"Kenny! What's wrong with you?"

"OH MY GOD, MAX!!!" Quickly, he buried his face against his chest, crying like crazy. "I SAW HER! SHE'S COMING TO GET ME!!! HELP ME!!!"

Kenny's cries awoke the sleeping teams and went outside. "What's the matter, Kenny?" Rei asked, rubbing his eyes. "Why are you screaming in the middle of the night?"

"Yeah, you disturbed our beauty sleep…*yawn*," Michael complained.

He pointed shakily at the end of the corridor. "T-there w-was this g-g-girl at the b-bathroom at the end of that c-corridor! S-she was s-scary and her dress w-was soaked with blood!!!" 

They all looked at him with disbelief. Minutes later, Mr. Watt came over to them in a hurry, fearing that something happened. "What's the matter?"

"Kenny here said that there was this strange lady in the bathroom at the end of the corridor," Mariah told him. "She was soaked with blood, or so he says…"

The old man winced a little, lucky for him, they hadn't noticed. He took a deep breath, then flicked a switch next to the Bladebreakers' room. Much to Kenny's shock, there was _no _bathroom at the end of the corridor, much less a young lady soaked with blood. 

"WHAT?!"

"I'm sorry, Mr. Kenny, but there is no bathroom at the end of that corridor," he apologized.

"B-but I'm sure…"

"There's no bathroom there, Kenny. Now get back to sleep!" Kai exclaimed. "Alright, the show's over. You teams better go back to bed."

Rei was comforting Kenny who was still wondering and sobbing at the same time. "B-but I'm sure that-"

"Come on, Kenny. Maybe you're just tired. What you need is a goodnight's sleep. You'll forget about this in the morning."

"But Rei," Max interfered, "It IS morning."

^_^U "Yeah, right…" he sighed. The sound of Tyson's snore caught all of the 3 boys' attention. They, with the exception of Kai, exchanged amused glances before drifting off to sleep.

Samantha's spirit chuckled evilly as she watched all of the events that took place after Kenny's "vision". Her cold lips put on a sly smile. Her threat worked…

Which leaves us with the question…__

_Who's next..?_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

DTZ: There goes chapter three!!! ^____^

Kenny: Of all the people…WHY ME?!?! T^T

DTZ: Because…

Reon: You're easy to scare…hehehe…BOO!

Kenny: AAAAHHH! @.@

Rei: Reon-san! That's not very nice.

Max: I agree…what the- DarkTwilightZero! That's my chocolate bar!!! (runs after DTZ)

Tyson: *munch* Salad, anyone?…guys?????

Kai: *sigh* To all of you readers, chapter four's on the way…(reads DTZ's planner)…it says here that Samantha's going to go after the bladers themselves…WHAT?! DarkTwilightZero! What's the meaning of this!?!?!

DTZ: What's that Kai? I'll get back on you with that. Stop chasing me, Max Mizuhara!!!

Max: MY CHOCOLATE BAR!!!!

Kai: -.-U Anyway, reviews people…(takes out a giant mallet, then…BOINK!) SHUT UP!!!


	5. First Strike

*** MISTY *** By: DarkTwilightZero DTZ's notes: Here I am again…with my author's notes! . 

Bladebreakers: *scared*

Tyson: *whispers to Reon* Hey…what's the matter with her?

Reon: *whispers back* She's upset because ff.net didn't post the latest review that she received in the reviews page. She found that out when she checked her email. *gulps*

DTZ: Yaaaaahhhhhh!!!!!!!!!!

Bladebreakers/Reon: Iiiiyaaa!!!

Kai: O.O Quick, hand me the sugar!!!

Rei: Here! (hands Kai a bar-thingy, and never realized that it was Max's CHOCOLATE bar) What are you going to do? 

(DTZ calms down…then goes hyper)

Kai: Whew…

DTZ: *spinning like crazy* CHOCOLATE!!!

Max: NOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!

(A strange mist fills the room, and Samantha makes her entrance)

All: O.O

Samantha: _Get on with the story…now!!!!_

DTZ: H-hai! I don't own Beyblade or any other related material! This is the 4th chapter…

Samantha: _Itadakimasu…_

(random readers shiver…)

**Chapter Four:**

First Strike   


Despite Rei's advice, Kenny remained in a state of shock and fear the next morning. He was afraid of going anywhere, afraid that Samantha might attack him again. At least without a companion…and this made his friends worry a lot. 

"Look guys, it seems that Kenny's condition is serious," Max told his teammates that morning. Behind them, Tyson trailed along, dragging the poor boy behind his back. He was whimpering like a real coward and was muttering, "She's coming to get me…" over and over again. "Poor Kenny!"

"C'mon buddy, that girl you saw was just an illusion. Snap out of it!" Tyson encouraged. Kenny shook his head like crazy. "You're just tired last night!"

"If I tell you once, I'll tell you a million times – she's real!!!" he retorted.

"Kenny!" Kai cried. "That girl ain't real! Now stop this nonsense before you make us all go crazy!!"

Angry, the boy let go of Tyson's hand and stepped back. "Why won't you guys believe me?! I'm telling you, she was real, she was really standing behind me that night in the bathroom!!!"

"But THAT bathroom that you were yappin' all these time doesn't even exist!"

"No, it does exist!" Kenny cried at Kai's face.

Kai was getting really angry. "You're insane!!!"

"Guys! Stop it right now!" Rei, Max and Tyson had to pull the quarreling two away to prevent them from starting a physical fight, and because they knew that Kenny was powerless against Kai. Both boys were glaring at each other, causing tension in the group. 

"Hey! What's with all the noise?!" Oliver called from behind them. The rest of the Majestics looked on and saw Kenny and Kai throwing glares at each other, and the rest holding them back.

"Looks like we missed a good fight," Enrique muttered. "What's going on around here?"

"Don't tell me that you're still quarreling over that 'girl in the bathroom' stuff!" Johnny snickered. "That's so silly!" He then pretended to be scared. "Help! A bloddy lady's after me!!! Hahaha!!!"

"Stop that now, Johnny!" Oliver scolded. "You're not helping, look! You're making Kenny even more scared."

"Let him quiver, it suits him anyway."

"Take that back, redhead!" Tyson scowled. He let go of Kenny's other arm and charged towards him. This time, Enrique and Oliver had to separate them. Robert was shaking his head in disgust. 

"You boys are like children fighting over spilled milk. Stop this nonsense right now!" he ordered, making them calm down. Rei placed a hand on his teammate's shoulder and said, "C'mon Tyson. Let's go."

Tyson gave Johnny one last glare before leaving. Johnny, in return cried, "You know, if that girl's real, then I dare her to visit me! You hear that?!"

Kenny frowned in concern. "He's out of his league. He wouldn't dare!"

"So are you, nerdy." Kai 'hmphed' and left them."

"The statement you said earlier gives me the creeps Johnny," Enrique remarked, running a hand through his blond hair. "What if she actually appears in front of you today? What will you do?"

"I'll tell her to leave me the hell alone."

Mr. Watt was worried sick regarding the girl in the bathroom incident. He was in his office, fiddling with the files that have been piled high over his desk. He was glad the BB Training building somehow was making its way to the top, recovering from the controversy. The "girl in the bathroom" stuff, the same thing happened to the facility before... and all these time, he was praying that it wouldn't happen again. But heaven did not grant his wish, cause it's happening again…

…history was repeating itself…

Rei separated from the group for a while, and took his time exploring the place alone. Before that, he passed by the White Tigers who were hanging out at the training hall practicing their skills. Lee talked to him, and at the same time asked if Kenny was alright. He shook his head…

_"I see, he's totally freaked out." He crossed his arms and silenced._

_"Lee, to tell you the truth, I fear for the safety of everybody." Mariah called her beyblade Galux back and stood beside Rei. "Ever since we arrived, strange things are starting to occur inside this building. It gives me the creeps."_

_"Yeah, me too." Kevin joined in._

_"I have a funny feeling that Mr. Watt ain't telling us something," Rei told his friends. "I suggest that until this whole thing is solved, we all must be on our guard. We don't know what's going to happen next."_

_Mariah gazed dreamily at him. She was touched by his unfading sincerity and care for his former team. "Don't worry Rei," Lee assured him. "We know that already…"_

He arrived at a large place at the underground section of the place. "A library?" he wondered. What a huge place…it almost twice as large as the grand hall, and every spot is laiden with bookshelves about 10 feet high. They contain books that deal everything on the aspect of beyblading. He passed by each row, looking at them with awe. "Kenny would like this place very much!" he thought. He passed by the file shelves, where every beyblader's files are stored and never noticed that in between them lies a dusty blue book… 

Right after he passed by, a faint white figure appeared, looking at him with curiosity. She glanced at the book tucked in the shelves as tears began to fall from her eyes. It slid slowly down her cheek and dropped to the dusty floor, leaving a circular mark on it. Nobody heard her sad melody of regret and despair, and she vanished slowly into thin air…

The grandfather clock that night, at the corridor chimed 11 times, echoing along the dark passageway. Its waves seeped into each of the rooms, swept along with the chilly breeze outside the building, with the bare, naked trees swaying in the wind, with the dark gloomy sky…as if it was mourning for someone…

A sad aura…

"Ahh! It's time for bed! Many things have happened this day! Say, Joy looked rather dazzling with that casual dress, and blahblahblah…" At the grand hall, Enrique muttered on about Joy, as the other three were walking rather uninterested on what he was saying. Johnny was walking ahead of them with his hands in his pockets. They just visited the training arena and then the café, where the saw the AI girl talking to a couple of students. The blond boy insisted that they stayed there for a while as he waltzed his way towards her. They stayed there until closing hours (A/N: O.o;) and right now, the elite bladers were rather tired to listen to him chatter. All they wanted that time was to get some sleep.

"Oh, shut up Enrique." Johnny gave him one of his death glares before walking further ahead of them. Enrique did what he said – and so were the others. The place became very quiet, and he could even hear his footsteps echo in the empty hall. Even though he did not want to admit it, the silence freaked him out. He spun on his heels and just about when he was going to yell at them, it surprised him when his friends have actually disappeared…

"What the-?!" he muttered loudly. "Enrique? Robert? Oliver? Where are you guys??" He raced down the stairs and looked around him. "Guys!!!"

A creepy voice echoed in the empty hall, and sent chills running down his spine. He hid his fear with his usual smirk and shouted, "Enrique…? I know you're hiding somewhere! Stop playing such an ugly prank! To tell you the truth, it's not funny!"

_"Really now…" _a shivery girl's voice answered instead of his teammate's. "_Are you afraid, Johnny McGregor?" _(A/N: I'm not sure if that is really his last name, so, kindly send me a review telling me his real last name!) 

"Who goes there? Show your ugly face right now!!!" he cried.

A chilly breeze introduced Johnny to her – none other than Samantha. She was just like Kenny described: her long ebony black hair draped her face all the way down to her waist, her dress was soaked with blood and Johnny could see clearly how they slid off her garment sleeves and dropped down to the cold shiny floor with a 'plop'. There was a red circular mark on her chest, the spot where Tani stabbed her 10 years ago. It was bleeding – and it continued to bleed as she literally floated towards the petrified European blader…

_So this is the girl that geek was blabbering about?!? _Johnny thought, adrenaline slamming into his system, giving him the instinct to run for it and shout for help. He backed off slowly, his gaze never leaving her face, and like most suspense stories with the same plot and scene, he slid and tripped, shaking with fear.

"G-get away from me, you freak!!!" Johnny yelled, while pushing himself away from her. Nevertheless, Samantha continued to advance cornering him to a wall. "D-didn't yo-u hear me?" he cowered, trying to give her that feeling of authority, but it was no use since his voice was terribly shaking. His eyes started to water for the first time in his life…

…and he should cower, Sam thought. He was face to face with his doom…

_"I thought you wanted to see me, young man. And here I am granting your wish…too bad this will be the last time you'll ever see me, neither the last time you'll ever see daylight again…"_ she hissed. Her hair uncovered her pale face, showing her *now* mossy green eyes. Johnny, now completely helpless staggered at the sight, felt his whole body becoming numb and his heartbeat slowing down. Before he knew it, he fell to the floor with a thud, and the last thing he saw was her reflection on the floor, then he was finally thrown into the darkness…

A flash of light sparked in a split second to the three boys right after the whole incident. Robert, Enrique and Oliver blinked the white spots off their eyes. "Hey, where did Johnny went off to?" Enrique wondered, looking around. His gaze finally fell upon the redhead lying down on his stomach just beside the main door downstairs. He didn't bothered thinking on how the hell had he went there without being seen, unless he had the grace and stealth of a cat which was most unlikely, he told himself. He breezed past the other two, jumped the last 5 steps of the stairs and went to his side. "Johnny! Hey man! What's wrong?"

"What's wrong with Johnny?" Oliver followed with Robert close behind. Enrique pushed Johnny on his back, and the three was shocked by how he looked…

…he was totally blank. His eyes were expressionless, as if he was in a trance that can never be broken. His whole body was cold and numb, and his usual skin color was paler than usual…

…like he was actually dead… "Noooo!!!!"

Robert motioned to Oliver. "Go get help quickly!" he commanded sternly. Oliver nodded and dashed off rather un-gracefully, a thing that surprised him; seeing Oliver setting aside his poise for the first time was _classic. _He kneeled beside the shaken Italian, sworing that he'd make the one who did this pay dearly. Big time.

…and once more, the grandfather clock chimed its call, as Oliver came along with the others…

…it was officially midnight…

…Samantha's will has been done…

…right before the time people called the _witching hour…_

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yay! Another chapter done!!! That took me too frickin' long to finish…damn writer's block….

Reon: …or was it because of laziness? *smirk*

Kai: *nods* You said it…

Heck, what's that supposed to mean??!!?

Tyson: (whispers) At least she's over from her being hysterical a while ago…

*glares* I heard that…stupid reviews section…why won't you show my reviews!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! AAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!!!

All except Kai: Not again!!! (Takes her down)

Reon: Total mayhem!!! Quick Ray, the strap jacket!!!

Kai: (watches the whole scenario) On behalf of that *cough*stupid*cough* author DarkTwilightZero, review for her…*vein popping on forehead, then turns to DTZ* SHUT UP!!!

(DTZ turns into a Hulk-sort-of –creature and thrashes everything around) YAAAAAHHHHH!!!!!

Ray: (runs) You know Kai…YOU SHOULDN'T HAVE SAID THAT!!!

Reon: Damn right, Kon…see ya all next chappie!!! (dodges DTZ's flying plush dolls) …STOP IT NOW!!!!   


	6. Controversies

*** MISTY *** By: DarkTwilightZero DTZ's notes… 

Hey everybody!!! ^________________________________________^ Ogenki ogenki?!?!

All: *sweatdrop*

Reon: Onee-san! You're sugar high again?!?

Kai: *sigh* What else is new?

Rei: Hey, don't be so hard on her, guys. DTZ has good reasons to celebrate, after all! Right, Dark?

DTZ: Hai! First of all, my review section's fixed!!! Arigato, ff.net!!! Majority of the readers commented about Johnny's "death". Or so they said…

Kai: *actually grins* Johnny's dead?! HA! We have good reasons to celebrate after all!!!! *brings out some Cali (my favorite soda…tastes like beer but it's not alcoholic), and some pizza* Dig in, everybody!!!

***Was attacked by Majestics fans* Fans: YAAAAAH!!!!!**

* Gets whacked by Kai loyalists* Loyalists: Don't you dare lay a finger on Kai!!!!!

* Total mayhem ensues*

Kai: @.@

DTZ: Well, guess we get to eat the treats!!! *sits lazily* Standard disclaimers apply…I don't own Beyblade. This is the 5th chapter…

Everybody: ITADAKIMASU!!!

Kai: SOMEBODY HELP ME!!!!!

**Chapter Five:**

Controversies Tick…tock…tick…tock… 

Enrique sat on the last step of the stairs leading to their rooms, his mind still shocked with what happened recently. He remembered it all too well – the shock at the other teams' faces when they saw their co-blader; Kenny acting like a real coward as Johnny laid their lifeless; the panic that quickly conquered the building, and the still tension that embraced them as they rushed Johnny to the nearest hospital. 

His body wasn't responding, and the rest of the Majestics feared that this might be the end of his young life and his booming beyblading career. The redhead's hand was still numb and cold, not like the fiery feel that he used to possess when he was still awake. Luckily, they could still feel his slow pulse and this gave them some hope. A spark of hope…

_"Hang on there, buddy…" he whispered to him in the vehicle._

_"…are you serious, Doctor?!" they all said in unison after the attending doctor emerged from the ICU. "But…"_

_"C-comatose?!" the Italian blader repeated what the doctor said. "Whoa…this is a joke, isn't it?"_

_"I'm afraid this isn't a joke, Mr. Giancarlo," the doctor said in a tone, making them feel that their comrade's life is coming to an end. "And like any comatose cases, he's got 50/50 percent of surviving. His pulse rate is slower than normal, and his blood pressure drastically dropped. His nervous system's also severely affected, and it is evident in his brain waves which lead us to the conclusion that he's mentally damaged.  But rest assured that we are trying our very best to restore him back to excellent health. Right now, all we can do is pray and hope for the best…"_

_With that, the doctor left the room._

_"This is serious," Oliver muttered and sat at the benches conveniently placed in the waiting area. Robert was leaning on the wall with his arms crossed and his eyes closed. "What are we going to do?" he asked him._

_"Like what the doctor said; hope for the best. All we can do now is to wait."_

_"TO WAIT?!" Enrique cried, facing him. "We have to do something! Johnny's life is on the line!"_

_"And what do you suggest, Enrique?" he answered back. He was at a loss for words at this and finally surrendered. His buddy passing out for no reason at all! And now he's under a coma…_

"This is not cool…I seriously don't like what's going on…"

The incident spread across the place, and in no time at all, it reached the ears of the media. In a flash, media men started to barrage at the building's entrance. Various reporters coming from famous and non-famous stations alike; and because it involved the name of the famous Gladiator of Glasgow, they were sure that this would be some big scoop. 

"Mr. Watt, please! Just one statement!" cried one interviewer.

"We'd like to talk to the Majestics as well!"

"Please sir! Let us in!"

"Whoa! Look, the media are already here!" From the window, Kevin pointed at the tons of professionals trying to force their way in. The White Tigers took a look, and so were the others. Rei looked worried as this was the first time that people practically tried to invade something that was meant to be private. Robert gave a scowl at them, obviously irritated at what's going on.

"Check out all the action!" Tyson exclaimed, like some innocent kid.

Steve looked at what was left of the Europeans behind him, and asked, "What are you guys going to do? Are you going to allow all those people?"

"In their dreams," said the Italian lad. "This is obviously none of their business!"

"Well, fame _does have_ its price," Michael shrugged, partly referring to himself and to his own fame. "Who wouldn't resist a scoop about the European World Champions?"

"Those guys are only thinking about what they would gain from doing this!" Oliver croaked, his purple eyes becoming all glassy. (A/N: I hope you don't mind if I made him a bit emotional here…after all, who wouldn't cry after experiencing such a tragedy? To a close friend?…yep. Now back to the fic.)

"Oliver…"

He said no more and walked away. Enrique went after him with Robert following close behind. The rest were at a loss for words and continued to watch the scenario at the gate. Outside, guards were trying their best to drive them all away to protect the privacy of the kids, and because of another reason…

"Are the media men gone yet, Joy?" 

"The guards are doing their best, Mr. Watt." The robot looked at her boss smoking his 5th stick of tobacco. Her artificial sense of smell detected the smell of combined smoke and nicotine and was registered by her brain as "something to cough at".

"I'm sorry," came his apology when the robot coughed a bit. 

"May I give a comment, sir?" she asked politely. The bald man looked up to her from his desk. "Yes, what is it?"

"Sir, you'd better refrain from smoking too much, because it won't solve the current problem that's present…it's bad for your heaaaa……" Suddenly, Joy stopped talking. He was a bit amused by this and decided to see the cause. Opening the robot's head after a few tinkerings, he found that the emitted substance and specks from his cigar literally clogged a few wirings inside and blocked all possible programs. [A/N: Remember the rule that you shouldn't smoke or eat blahblahblah…while working in front of the computer or any other machine? ^^; I just remembered, I was eating while typing this…hehehe… (Kai: *hits DTZ with mallet* Stupid… ) Grr…..that smarts…¬.¬]

"Joy's circuitry had been clogged," he muttered. "Now look at what you did James." He glanced at the wisps of smoke of his cigar and sighed. "There goes one of your instructors…"

The only team that was missing during the whole action was the Demolition Boys. They were at the training hall practising, and didn't care a thing about the rest of their co-bladers. Tala was leaning on the wall, watching Spencer and Ian fight each other in a practice match. Bryan was checking his launcher at the opposite side of the room, upgrading every part that needs to be upgraded. His ears caught the sound of a phone beeping. It took their leader a while before he realized that's his. The screen reflected Boris' number, and he frowned. "It's the boss," he told them.

The three stopped what they were doing and preceeded on standby. 

"This is Tala, sir."

"Tala," came Boris's evil voice at the end of the line. "Have you found any data about the facility?"

"Yes sir," and remembered all that they've seen. "They were making use of artificial technology to deliver discussions and lectures regarding beyblading, through their specially designed robots with humanlike capabilities. The facilities and programs are at the same level as ours, or maybe greater. But there seems to be some flaws…"

The madman smirked. "And what are those flaws?"

"The BB Training Building looks to be the favorite subject of controversy. Yesterday, Johnny McGregor of the famous European group Majestics, was rushed to the hospital and it involves this place."

"Hm…interesting." 

"Up till now, the mystery's still unresolved. Changing topics, we'll inform you as soon as we found something new."

"I'm glad you're doing what you were intended to do before I sent you there." And the line went dead. 

"What did he said to you?" Bryan asked in an arrogant manner. 

"You told him about what happen to McGregor?" Ian asked as well.

Tala nodded. "Yes. Boris expects us to update to him as soon as possible. Now get back to training."

The trio saluted and went back to the dish.

The ruckes have died down that afternoon; the reporters got tired of begging and pleading at the entrance and decided to go away. Except for one…

His green eyes watched the building in front of him, with a speck of revenge in them. Perfectly hidden behind dark pairs of glasses, the rage in his eyes continued to burn brightly, and whispered "Just watch, I'll be back…I'll be back, Samantha…."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Whoa! What do you think? Who's the mysterious man? Guesses anyone???

Kai:….That was rather short….

*sweatdrop* Writer's block, Kai. A deadly writer's disease that blocks creativity and inspiration! And there's only one cure for it…

Reon: I know… Please review!!!

Yup! Criticisms are welcome, as long as it helps me and doesn't make me cry too much! Like every writer, flames give me writer's block….BIG TIME! You know what to do now! Just follow 'd arrow and click that wonderful button! Ja ne!

 ||

 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||  
 ||

\ /


	7. Only In Your Dreams

*** MISTY *** By: DarkTwilightZero 

DTZ's Notes:

Hey everybody? What's cooking? *grins*

Rei: ¯_¯U Gee, Dark sounds so happy today…

Yup, I sure am! Thanks you to all those who reviewed chapter 5! Also, I want to take this opportunity to give my regards and my dearest thanks to Kawaii Tenshi! ^________^  Thank you for reviewing always! You don't know how much that means to me…*sniff*

Kai: Haay…enough mush already. Get on with the fic. 

¬¬ you're so mean….

Reon: He's right, onee-san. If you hadn't noticed, the readers are getting impatient already. (looks at pouting readers) See?

Okay…(sighs) Kai, Kindly do the disclaimer!

Kai: Whatever…DarkTwilightZero doesn't own Beyblade or any other related material. She just owns Samantha, Tani Brown and her latest OC, who will come out soon. There.

You're forgetting something, Kai-kun! ^____________________^

Kai: What?

The I-word!

Kai: Whatever…

-_-**X** grrr…..

Kai: Alright! Itadakimasu!

YAY! ^O^

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Six: **

Only In Your Dreams…

Everything that happened that day was a riot, to say the least…

But to all that witnessed the whole turn of events, "riot" was an understatement. Up till now, everybody hasn't recovered yet from their states of shock. With one blader under a critical condition, with the facility under such controversy again, it's safe to say that things have gone haywire.

But not for Tani Brown – yup, _the _Tani Brown. The one and only. He has just arrived from his former home, and now he was studying the files and other documents about the place. Beyblade Training Building – just the name of it gives him the worst case of fits. 

After he was released from the asylum 4 years ago, his life was never the same. It was hard to get used to his new life, to that new chance that destiny gave him. And for all of these, he blames only one person…

…the woman he fantasized before…Samantha…

And this is how it went, during his years in the institution…

Tani's first arrival in the Asylum earned a few heads from the medical professionals. After all, who hasn't heard of the Lightning Blader? The most famous blader of the facility? It certainly is a sight to behold to those who knew him and his fame; seeing him scream and kick around like some 3-year old kid. Even the men who were holding him can't help but feel embarrassment and pity for the young blader. But, it's all in a day's work. They had no choice but to throw him in that cushion-walled room, where they are sure that he wouldn't get hurt. He wriggled and stretched, trying to remove that confounded thing that they made him wear.

_…that damn strap jacket that refrains him from having his freedom…_

_he cried and yelled, rolling around the room, shouting for help. His dilated pupils still see the image of her spirit, and now, hallucination brought forth her image, as she "floated her way towards him"._

_Tani sniffed and cried, tears flowing down his cheeks. The darkness of the room was closing in on him. He cried some more…he felt so alone. He pushed his way towards that familiar corner of the room; at that moment, it seemed like the safest place in the world. He sulked, he shivered, he cowered in fright. "HELP ME!!!!" Tani repeatedly cried._

_…but nobody heard him, no matter how much he tried._

_Every morning, the nurses would attend to him and brought him to the asylum's garden where the other mentally-damaged patients were kept. His fists clutched on to his white hospital gown, meekly walking like a shy kindergarten student. "Tani-sama, come on. Let's go and join the others," The nurse urged and led him to a batch of patients, who were playing with themselves. _

_He looked at her with uncertainty, and she smiled. "Don't worry, I'm right here. I won't leave you."_

_He grinned childishly, and skipped towards them. _

_The others looked at him surprised, rose up and backed away from him. Tani tried his best to come close to them, but as he did so, the other patients started screaming in fear. One of them happened to look like Samantha, which brought forth shock and tension in the trouble blader's mind. _

_"Aaaaaahh!!!!!" He started to cry hysterically, pushing away his nurse, and ran away like a madman. His feet led him to his solace…inside the four white corners of his room, where silence reigns. No nurse is going to trouble him, Samantha won't follow him in there. Tani hugged his knees close to his chest and whimpered alone. _

_Indeed it was a living hell for him, during his first days and months in the institution…_

_But that doesn't mean that he would stay there forever…_

_"Congratulations, Tani-sama! You're free to leave the hospital!" his personal nurse greeted cheerfully. Tani nodded; it has been six years. He had spent his 6 years alone in that institution. And now that he has regained his sanity, he felt like he was reborn. _

_His brown hair was now long, and it was tied in a high ponytail , shimmering like silk against the rays of the sun. His brown eyes, which were once bursting with vigor and youth, had narrowed and matured due to experience. Even though he was a prisoner in that place, he never lost his well-built body, and now he's taller by 6 inches. (A/n: Think of Tokiya Mikagami from Flame of Recca. O.O …man, I'm drooling now.)_

_Just as he was about to leave the hospital, he passed by another patient, who was crying and screaming hysterically. It reminded him of his past, the day when he was first brought in. The fear in his eyes…it sent chills running down his spine. He never wanted to go back in again. Never again._

"Yawn…" Tani lazily stretched his arms up high, after reading all that was needed. He looked at the window of his apartment, just beside the busy streets of the city. The sound of the sirens, the honking of the vehicles…some people might call it noise, but it was the sweetest music in his ears. 

Much better than the cries of fright that he used to hear.

He listened on, to the sound of his wall clock ticking, the low "rrr" sound of his aircon, to the squeaking of his study chair. He fixed his gaze at the dark ceiling, letting the feel of the night seep into his mind. "Samantha…" was the last word that he whispered before drifting into dreamland…

And softly, the night wind swept into the room and flipped the thick research papers that he was fiddling a while ago. Later on, it passed by, showing one of the past controversies that BB Training Bldg. encountered… 

"BB Training Bldg. Sends Best Blader to Asylum For The Mentally Damaged"

Meanwhile, at the facility's gardens, Kai was reflecting on the recent turn of events that they have experienced so far. His blood red eyes looked at the magnificent water display (A/N: A grand fountain in other words…=^^=;) in front of him, and admitted to himself that if something happens to his team, he'll surely take the heavy responsibilty of clearing it up. After all, he's the team leader. Ever since the tournament ended, he's not the same cold Kai he was once before.

"I've been thinking too much," he muttered and stood up from the bench he was sitting on. Turning around, he came face to face with someone…a girl, whom he felt was watching him for a long time. He could not see her eyes for they were hidden under her long bangs, but he could see her smirk, and it annoyed him too much. He growled under his breath, and she chuckled before disappearing into the darkness…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There! Now that was rather quick, isn't it? Yup, this chapter focuses on Tani's days in the asylum. Oh, and can anyone guess why this chappie is entitled, "Only In Your Dreams…"? 

Kai: Gruff…what kind of question is that?

'Cause I know that a lot of readers out there are wondering why this is titled like that! *points to title*.

Kai: Chi…--X

Reon: Whatever, onee-san…--U

' ' U What's the matter with you people???? Sheesh…changing topix! You know what to do now, right? ^_~ Please review! Thousand domos!!

Max: ^______________^ Just follow that arrow below!!! Love and peace!!

Right on!!!

 | 

 |

 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |  
 |

\/ 


	8. The Living Threat: Meet Devlon Jean

*** MISTY *** By: DarkTwilightZero 

**DTZ's notes:**

O.O…Finally, I get to update!!!

Bladebreakers/Reon: *sweatdrop* - - U 

Hey! Don't look at me like that!! Aniweiz, my college final exams for the first trimester are over!!!!! Let's celebrate, minnasan!!!! (does a double take)…Man, I thought I was going to die then…*mushroom sigh*

Kai: But then again…your registration for the second trimester is going to be next week…*smirk*

Rei: Yup…you've got a lot of things to do, Dark.

¬¬U Don't remind me…haay…anyways, I'm glad to be back here! You thought I was dead, didn't you?? ^^; *Readers nod* I'm not! Oh yeah! Daveigh Chase won the Best Villain award for playing Samara in "The Ring"! (thunderous applause was heard in the background) Samara rules!!!!^__________^ ….Okay, so this is the next chapter of Misty. Thank you to all those kind people who reviewed, especially to treachery89, Reioca, Cold Tears of the Phoenix and to Raye Hino!!! *blows kisses* Next chapter, I'm gonna make separate thank you notes to each and every reviewer! _Yakusoku desu!_ Disclaimer time, I don't own Beyblade and FFX2, so don't sue me!!!! *death glare* Hope all of you enjoy this chapter!!!

Everyone else:  ITADAKIMASU!!! ^________^

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Seven:**

The Living Threat – Meet Devlon Jean

Kai went back to his groupmates after that freaky incident with that girl he just saw earlier. When he arrived, the blue-haired boy and Max were under a violent pillow fight; Kenny was doing his research w/ his laptop as usual; and Rei was on the corner watching Beyblade TV. The neko-jin noticed his arrival and smiled. "Yo Kai! Where have you been, buddy?"

Tyson grinned slyly, then out of the blue, a soft pillow smacked right onto Kai's head. "Yeah, where have you been?"

Kai threw the pillow back at him. SMACK! "Ow!" he cried.

"Just took a walk outside. That's all…" he answered monotonely (A/n: Is there such a word??). He then slumped on his side of the bed. "That girl…" he thought. "Who the hell is she??"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Time passed by slowly, luckily the tension that was conquering the 5 teams was almost non-existent now. As soon as their jolly mood came back, things returned to normal bit by bit. It was then that the guys decided to have a little friendly match. Tyson, getting excited, dragged practically all of his teammates and the others into the training arena. Jumping up and down like a kid, he cried, "Come on! This'll be fun!!"

"Tyson! Slow down will ya?" Kenny yelled at him, clutching his laptop. 

"Hurry up, Kenny! Don't you like the idea? You'll be able to upgrade your data about us!!!"

Mariah came over to Rei and whispered, "Just how many cups of coffee did that kid drank this morning?"

^^U "A lot," he replied.

"Oh, that explains it all…" *mushroom cloud sigh*

"Tyson! Would you just zip it! We're going already!!" Michael grumbled. "All of that yelling of yours is gonna break my eardrums!!!"

"REALLY!?!!" he yelled a lot louder. The others had to cover their ears. Kai had already a stress vein throbbing on his forehead. Tala was getting pissed with every second, while Bryan has to be restrained by both Ian and Spencer so that he wouldn't kill Dragoon's owner.

"Shut up!!!!" They all yelled and started chasing him. "You are soooo dead, Kinomiya!!!!!" Pretty soon, the whole building heard the complaints, rants and raves (A/N: ^^;;;) of Tyson, echoing all over the place..

The sounds of the young teens caught the attention of one girl. Inside her cold room, she heard the groans of Kinomiya when Kai tacked him to the ground, and faced abuses from the others. Gazing down at her study table, she took a look at the math problem that she was dying to solve. Calculations about a beyblade's velocity and angle of launch… giving up, she rose from her chair, leaving behind a blank answer sheet.

Her wavy long black hair flip-flopped behind her back, and her long bangs that were framing her face perfectly were restrained by a pink hairband. She was wearing a sleeveless light pink top with hood, a white sailor skirt and really, REALLY baggy white socks (A/N: I've made a pix of her, so it's just a matter of time before u guys see what she looks like. Excuse the hands though, I'm no genius at drawing hands. But oh well, "A picture is worth a thousand words", ryt?). A soft red material was wrapped around her right arm and was secured with black strings that resemble shoelaces, copying the style of Yuna from Final Fantasy X2. (A/N: =^^;= I can't help it, Yuna's my favorite!) Her ice blue eyes saw Tyson's company and managed to smile. She momentarily shrugged and followed them out of curiosity.

"Check it out!" Upon arriving there, Tyson showed everyone his new attack ring. "Dragoon has been upgraded! So, how about a little match!!?"

"Show-off," the others chorused. 

"You dragged us all the way here to brag about your new attack ring?!" Bryan was practically fuming with annoyance as he said this. 

"Zip it, purple head. If you want, you can take all that anger out in a beybattle! How about it?" he challenged.

"IT's NOT PURPLE!"  he exclaimed.

"YEP, IT's LAVENDER!" ^____^

"Punk! Stop picking on my hair!"

"I'm not picking on your hair. What do I look like, a monkey?!"

"You are! You look like one!" Everyone laughed at this remark.

"WHAT!?!?!"

"Hey you two," Rei tried in an effort to calm them down. "Stop fighting now."

"Stay out of this!" Tyson and Bryan yelled at the same time, glaring fire daggers at him. Rei sweatdropped and took a step back.

"Leave them, Rei. Let them continue with their childish bickerings," Robert told him. After that, the quarreling boys resumed their little verbal battle. 

Tala took this opportunity to challenge his former teammate. "Hey Kai," he called flatly. "It's been a long time. How about a match?" Kai glared at the redhead, saying nothing. At this, all of them turned to look at them. Tyson and Bryan stopped fighting when they heard Tala's challenge. 

"Forget it. I'm not wasting my energy on a loser like you. In fact, I'm wasting my time just being here. That's why I'm going." he said in his usual tone, and headed for the door.

"Why?" he called. "Are you scared that you'd get defeated, Hiwatari Kai?? Coward!"

Bingo. He hit Kai's weak spot. Turning around, his ruby eyes met the Demolition Boy's cold icy ones. "Let's get it on. Nobody calls me a coward and gets away with it!"

"YEAH!" Tyson cheered, punching Bryan on the jaw in the process. "You go, Kai!!'

"That was the last straw, monkey boy!!!" With that, he started chasing him around the place. The others sweatdropped while saying, "Stupid kids," helplessly. 

Tala and Kai took their places on the beystadium, as everyone (except Tyson, Bryan, and the Majestics) gave the signal. "3…2…1! Let it rip!!"

RRIPP!! "Go Dranzer!" 

"Wolborg, finish him off!" 

The 2 beyblades collided head-on, and neither on wanted to let go of the other. They battled their way around the arena, making everyone die of suspense. "Amazing! I've never seen a battle so evenly matched!" Emily gasped. "This is the perfect chance for me to update my data!"

"Jeez, you're starting to sound like that geek over there," Michael teased, pointing at Kenny. The latter heard his remark and looked at them. 

"What?!"

"Zip it, Parker. This is my job, and I don't mix it with personal feelings."

"So does that mean that you have a thing for that kid??"

Emily blushed scarlet, as well as Kenny. "Shut up!"

"Oooooo…someone's in the denial stage," Eddy teased. The All-Starz' boys snickered as Emily ignored them and watched the fierce fight. Kenny on the other hand was practically jumping with joy deep inside. "Emily likes me! Emily likes me!!" he cried mentally with glee. The blush never left his face and he was grinning practically from ear to ear. Max noticed this and nodged him with his elbow. "Hey chief, are you alright? You don't look so good."

"I'm fine, Max! In fact, I've never felt better!" he cheerfully replied.

*sweatdrop* "Whatever you say…"

~*~*~*~*~*~

"It's time to bring in the heat!" Kai thought. "Arise, Dranzer!" His bitchip glowed bright red, as the holy phoenix rose high and eyed Tala's beyblade. "Fire Arrow!" 

~*~*~*~*~*~

"Beautiful," the girl's eyes sparkled with amazement at the power that was displayed before her. "So powerful…" She felt her heart beat faster with every flap of its red wings. She then glared at Kai, a sly smile drawing upon her red lips. "Hiwatari Kai…"

~*~*~*~*~*~

Just when Dranzer's only 3 meters from the ground, did Wolborg started to make its move. "Blizzard attack," Tala commanded. Wolborg began to spin so fast, dropping the temperature a hundred degrees below Celsius. Everybody gasped. "Oh no!" Rei cried. "Kai, watch it! He's trying to put you out!"

"Silly boy," he taunted. "Didn't you know that fire melts ice?" And with a blinding flash of light, the battle was over. The temperature went back to normal, as everybody cheered for the Bladebreakers' captain. "Alright! Kai won!!!" Max cheered. 

"The wrath of Dranzer strikes again!" Kevin remarked.

Tala was devastated with his loss. He dropped to his knees in agony. "Not again…" He then felt Kai's eyes upon him. "You could never defeat me redhead," he told him. "Not in a million years."

CLAP! CLAP! CLAP!!

"That was an amazing battle!" said a girl's voice. Kai and the others detected it coming from behind on of the marble pillars of the place, as she stepped out into view. "The best one I've ever seen!" Her ice blue eyes reflected her joy and amazement, and she waved a strand of hair behind her back. 

Enrique's eyes turned into hearts, and before anybody knew it he was holding the girl's hand. "What a lovely lady!" he said in an attempt to flatter her. "May I know thy name, madamoiselle?" (A/N: Did I spell it right? If not, please tell me..hehe….^___^;)

"Not again," Oliver sighed. "Enrique~!"

"It's alright," she reassured sweetly. "My apologies if I suddenly barged in. The name's Jean; Devlon Jean."

"Devlon! Wow…" 

"Anyway, it's a pleasure to meet the top 5 beyblading teams of the world!" Devlon then looked at the boy standing in front of her. "And if I'm not mistaken, you're the best blader that Italy has to offer! Sir Enrique?"

_"She knows me!!" the lad thought to himself, and was immediately transported to Happyland. "Oh, happy day!"_

"Ahem," Oliver cleared his throat to get her attention away from the blond Italian. "Allow me to introduce the rest of us, Ms. Devlon. I'm Oliver, and beside me is Robert. We're from Europe."

"And the one that's missing from us is Johnny McGregor," Robert filled in.

"Missing?"

"He's in the hospital and is currently in a comatose." The Norseman's voice turned low upon saying this. The others, including Enrique(who had finally snapped out of his trance) all wore sad faces.

"I'm sorry," Devlon apologized. "I shouldn't have asked that one. Anyway, I hope he gets better soon."

"Thanks."

"Hey, what about the rest of us?" Tyson complained. "What's shakin', Devlon!? My name's Tyson!"

"And I'm Max!"

"I'm Kenny…" 

"Nice to meet you! I'm Rei!"

"And that sourpuss is KAI!" the Bladebreakers chorused, pointing to their captain who was still standing beside the dish.

"Kai?" Devlon repeated. "I've seen him before…" she thought. "That's right…"

Kai noticed that Devlon was smirking at him. It reminded him of that weird girl that was standing at the fountain last night. The long bangs….she looked exactly like _her!_

"Kai?" Devlon called for the 3rd time, while waving a hand in front of his face. "Hello?!"

"-?! Stay away from me!" and he pushed her away. 

"Hey! Sorry about that, Dev! He's just like that," Rei apologized.

"No, it's alright," and she smiled. While the others introduced themselves, her thoughts circled around the mysterious blader, and his Dranzer that she saw earlier. "Such power…he's an extraordinary beyblader…too bad." A low evil chuckled rumbled deep inside her throat…

~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~~*~*~*~*~*~

There! Chapter 7's finally finished! Yay!! After an update-less month!! *does a victory dance* 

Reon: What's going to happen now? I'm getting confused…*scratches head*

Things are going to be confusing from now on! What will be Devlon's role in the lives of our beloved beybladers?

Devlon: You'll soon find out…ha haha hahaha!!!

Bladebreakers: She's scaring us!! 

Kai: ¬¬ Don't tell me that you're going to pair me with her! Not again!!! Why do I have to get all mushy in fanfics?!?!

Cool it Kai! You're not going to be paired with Jean! Unless I change my mind…*evil grin*

Kai: NOOOO!!!!

Devlon: Review please! Your feedbacks will be greatly appreciated, constructive criticism and all…except worthless flames that is!! Hahahahahaha!!!!!! *walks away as scary BGM plays* 

|

|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|  
|

¥ 


	9. Psyched

*****MISTY*****

by: DarkTwilightZero

**Dark-kun's notes:**

Hiya everyone! Welcome to the next chapter of Misty! But before anything else, just like I promised last chapter, I'll give separate notes to each reviewer! So, here we go!!

**Raye Hino – Devlon, Samantha? Hmmm…….*grinz evilly* I won't tell! Won't spoil the surprise for all of ya guys! Hehe, evil, aren't I? *wink***

**Treachery89 – wow! You reviewed each and every chapter?! Like, heavy! Thanks! I read your fic, and it was nice! Love all of those angsts! Anyway, you'll have to read the fic if ya want to know if Kai's going to be Sam's next target…right Sam?**

(Samantha: *nods and smirk evilly, sending chills to everybody in the room* )

Thanks, treachery89!

**Mandy-pants - ^_______^; Yeah, I think that the previous chapter was a bit hilarious, it lightened up the whole story and completely went off-track! Lol, but don't worry cause I'm not planning on abandoning this fic. Heck, it's my very first Beyblade fic! Thousand domos!**

**Koneko Girl Lime – Lol, thanks for reviewing! Tyson and Bryan would make such an adorable pair, don'tcha think? ^_____^ **

(Reon/Bladebreakers: Yeah!!! ^____^)

**Cold Tears of the Phoenix – Mandy-chan! Hehe…you sure surprised me! Oh yeah, when will u update "They're not going to get us"? Pretty please update soon! Thanks! **

And to everybody else, please send in your reviews, cause I really need to know what you think of these! Like that sentence that I read, "Comments boost up a writer's imagination!" All of them will be greatly appreciated…except flames!!! Please don't send me flames!! Thousand domos!! ^^;

Disclaimer: I don't own Beyblade or any other related to Beyblade. I just own Samantha, Devlon Jean and Tani Brown. Oh, not to mention James and Joy. Itadakimasu!!

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

**Chapter Eight:**

Psyched

The teams were having a light snack at one of the facility's private restaurants right after the heated battle between Kai and Tala. Devlon offered that it will be her treat, and they all eagerly agreed. After all, who would resist a free meal?

"So Devlon, why don't you tell us something about yourself?" Rei asked the newbie in order to start a conversation.

"Alright, I was brought here in the facility at age 8, by my father Carlos Jean. He's one of the teachers who used to train the past generations of beybladers. He's the partner of Mr. Watt; the persons who were responsible for the fame and skill of the late beyblading legend, Samantha! That's why I'm very proud of him…" Taking a sip of her cappuccino drink, she smiled at the thought. Her father really is legendary.

"Speaking of Samantha, have you got any idea as to why she suddenly disappeared 10 years ago?" Kenny asked. "If I'm not mistaken, you were brought here some years after she disappeared."

"That's right. Unfortunately, Samantha's disappearance is still a mystery. The administrators did all they could to find her but to no avail. That's why they just concluded that she's dead."

Kenny "hmm"ed at the statement, and sank into deep thoughts. The others don't really care at all. Tyson was busy eating his chicken sandwich extra dressing, not minding the fact that it was his 3rd serving. "Why should we care about a long-gone person, anyway?" he sarcastically said, waving a hand lazily. "She's gone after all. Rest in peace, or whatever we should say, right now we've got a lot of things to worry about! One is about Johnny's condition! We still have no clues as to why, who and what is the cause of his comatose!"

"Didn't the doctors say it was because of a very severe mental damage?" Max filled in for the rest of them. "If it's because of that, then we're positive that he's going to be okay."

"Max is right," Enrique said. "And besides, we're talking about the 'great' Johnny McGregor. No comatose is gonna kill him. That guy's too hotheaded to be bedridden!"

"You know," Lee's voice broke the cheerful atmosphere that was in the room, "I feel that Mr. Watt's hiding something from us."

"Like what?" Mariah asked.

"Haven't you noticed that everytime we talk about Samantha or Johnny, he just shrugs it off and ignores the issue completely? It looks like he's running away from the topic. Mr. Watt certainly knows what's going on around here, and he doesn't want us to know about it!"

"You've got a point there, Lee.." Emily said in her usual "know-it-all" tone. "We've gotta know what he's being so secretive about!"

"Yeah! We're his guests after all!" Kevin piped in. 

Devlon watched the youngsters discuss about the topic, gradually sipping her drink every now and then. So the kids are going to stick their noses in now? Whatever…at least they're fighting back. Was it a good thing?

One thing's for sure…

For her, it's not…

And that triggers something into her memory. _Mental note to self…stop these kids from finding out anything. And you've gotta make it quick, Jean._

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Man, Im stuffed!" 

"Stuffed is an understatement, Tyson. You just ate 10 chicken sandwiches, downed 10 milkshakes and raided all of their desserts!" Kenny exclaimed the moment they got back to their room. The others just looked on and listened.

"Yeah, you didn't even saved some for us," Max nagged, but not the least bit upset. 

"On top of that, Devlon suffered the consequences of Tyson's bottomless stomach," Rei piped in and sighed, a big sweatdrop hanging from his head. "I mean, by the look on her face…"

~FLASHBACK~

They went on chatting with each other, until the waiter came to their table and interfered with Tyson's "snack". The blue boy looked up to meet a pair of fiery brown eyes and twirling moustaches, in his palms was the bill that would decide the future of Devlon's wallet. "Ze bill, messieur…" he said rather politely, flashing the bill in front of his face. He choked at the price and dropped the last morsel of his sandwich. Tyson then looked back to a seemingly clueless Devlon Jean, and grinned stupidly. "I gotta go to the bathroom…" and dashed off before anyone could react. The speed of his escape sent the bill slamming onto Dev's nose. She pulled it off and read… 

_"Are you going zu pay ze bill, madame?" the waiter asked impatiently, raising a thin eyebrow. _

_"Oh my…" was all that Devlon could reply._

_"What's the matter, Dev? How much did it cost?" Rei wondered. He was answered by a low growl…._

_"TYSON!!!!!!" she cried and dashed after the boy along the corridors. Everybody looked at them, and the Chinese boy took this as a cue to read the bill. He paled as well, "$299.99…man…"_

~END OF FLASHBACK~

"And everything ended up with our world champion getting pulped by Devlon's fist," he finished.

Tyson sweatdropped. "Hey, it wasn't my fault at all, Devlon said that she'll take care of everything!"

"You're right, but show a little consideration next time!" Kenny scolded. 

"I fear that there won't be a next time, guys…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"Tyson's such a gobbler; I swear that I'll make him pay next time!" Devlon sweatdropped as she surveyed what was left of her money. Her eyes met the shining surfaces of three 25 cents and some dimes. Her face paled, that was the last of her savings and they've all disappeared thanks to one hungry glutton!

Arriving at her door, she was about to turn the doorkow when an image flashed in her mind…

_"What's this…?" She asked herself. There was total darkness, before pools of red began flooding her sight. Blood! That means one thing…_

_Samantha is going to strike again…_

_But who will be her unsuspecting victim this time? Various images showed her the tragic Johnny incident that's why she knew what exactly happened at the young Scottish lad. Could it be because that the other surviving bladers are starting to meddle with things? If that's the case, the future doesn't promise any good happenings at all…_

"Devlon?"

That single word broke the premonitions of the girl, and she turned around to see Mariah and the rest of the White Tigers. "What are you doing here?" she asked.

"I was just wondering if there's a library here." Her catlike eyes scanned the floor while waiting for Devlon's answer. The former was surprised. "And why are you going to the library, Mariah?"

"Research."

"About what?"

"About this place," Lee casually replied. "Well? Does this building have one?"

Devlon was taken aback. Whenever Lee talks, you just can't say no… "It's below this building. You can't miss it." Lee nodded thankfully and headed out with the rest of his members. She did not bother to ask them what are they going to research about the building. But why does she have this creepy feeling?

Devlon entered her room and immediately fell against the bed. "Man, I'm so tired…" she mumbled then drifted off to sleep…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

The White Tigers passed by the grand hallway where the enormous portrait of Samantha was displayed. Suddenly, a chilly feeling shot through Mariah's senses when she passed by it. Looking up, she noticed the dark expression on Sam's eyes. Her eyebrows met with suspicion that there's going to be yet another trouble waiting for all of them…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Meanwhile, Tani is starting to make his way towards the building. He had to stop Samantha's vengeful spirit before she strikes again! As night slowly crept upon the place, his determination to avenge himself is getting stronger… 

At last…after what seemed forever…he was facing the gates of his former sanctuary…

"We meet again…" he darkly mumbled. "I swear I'm gonna get you, Samantha!" 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

There you have it! Chapter 8! I'm sorry for the long update! ^___^; 

Reon: What else is new? *glares*

Hey, I can't help it if I'm starting to get hooked on Yugioh! Yami's so adorable!

Kai: *death glare*

*sweatdrops* Hehe…I guess that's all! C'ya next chappie! Ja ne!

  ||

  ||

  ||      …Follow this arrow and click that button! Thousand domos! ^^;

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

  ||

====

  V


	10. Meddling, Discoveries and Devlon's Plans

**~* MISTY *~ **

DarkTwilightZero

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Dark-kun's notes: **Elloe minnasan; nice to see ya guys again! As you all noticed, I really took a loooonng break, didn't I? (laughs nervously) I'm sure that all of you are going to flame me for that…I'm sorry if it really took me THAT long! 

**Reon: **Alright, alright already! Just get on with the fic!!

**Kai: **The sooner you do, the sooner we can stop listening to your pathetic excuses…

**D: **(vein throbs on forehead) What was THAT, Hiwatari Kai?!!

**Tyson: **(sees Dark's raging red aura) Uh oh…(tries to run away)

**D: **You're sooo gonna get it, Kai!!! (runs after Kai in an attempt to beat him up)

(ground begins to shake as Kai's fangirls run after Dark)

**Fangirls: **Oh no, you don't!!!

**Rei: **(sweatdrops) This is getting nowhere. Dark-kun doesn't own Beyblade, only the characters that she made up. So don't sue her since she's only a poor college student…(reads the rest of Dark's notepad)…and yep, that's all. (runs away)

**Reon: **Itadakimasu!! (jumps in an empty trash can and hides from everyone)

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

**Chapter 9: **Meddling, Discoveries and Devlon's Plans…

Tani barged into the building, admist all of the protests and explanations that the guards gave him on his way. Some things about the building's condition not being safe, threats and all…but he just ignored them. Getting pissed, he gave them all one DEADLY, and not to mention MENACING look.

"Sir listen to us!" they all said at the same time. "You can't get inside the premises without an approved appointment from the president!"

"Don't worry, I'm pretty sure that James will be GLAD to see me," he answered them without the sarcasm. "Whether I settled an appointment or not. After all, who wouldn't want to get reunited with him former star student?" 

And with that, he left the guards to ponder for themselves…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

"So far, not so good…" Lee mumbled as he shoved a pile of books to one side of the bookshelf. They had practically gone through almost every history book in the library and found nothing. He threw another worthless history book on the floor, making it the 20th one to join the pile of books that he threw thoughtlessly within the last 60 minutes.

On the sides, Mariah yawned and looked around for something interesting to look at than Lee's constant mess. Right at the very last bookshelf, beside it, she saw a door with the sign "Trainees' Files – Do not enter without permission!" Smirking, she thought: "That must be the place." She rose from her seat and went to the door without even bothering to tell Lee about it.

~CREAK~

The room was dark, but she managed to see her way through. While she was looking at the shelves, a certain portfolio caught her attention. 

"Samantha Hale's Files…" she read. "She's that girl on that painting! The best blader this facility has handled 10 years ago!!" She never hesitated and took the already dusty file. Opening it, her eyes widened in amazement when she read the contents…

Samantha Hale, 18 years old, was the facility's best blader and had fought a total of 100 battles ever since she first arrived. She was considered as the "child prodigy" for she was the youngest blader ever to master her skills…

"Amazing…" Mariah gasped. She continued reading…

…when she reached the peak of her booming career, the biggest mystery of all happened – she suddenly disappeared. Nobody knew why , but ever since then she hadn't come back. Many presumed her to be dead, or she could've escaped…but these are all theories. Up till now, this mystery is still unresolved.

"She disappeared? Oh…just like that cyber Joy told us the first day we came here…" Mariah closed the folder and returned it to its proper place. 

A chilly atmosphere enveloped the room, and it surprised her for there were no windows anywhere. The door was closed too… "What the heck -?!"

~SWISH…~

Her golden eyes dilated with fear…for she was sure…

…someone passed right behind her…she could feel its cold presence…

Unable to scream, Mariah fled the room and went back to the group.

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

~SLAM!~

"Gaah! Nothing!" Lee scowled and threw the 40th book on the floor, much to the surprise of his teammates and everybody in the library. 

"SHHHHH!!"

The White Tigers' leader just "hn!"ed and went down the ladder that he was on. "This place is worthless! They don't have the book that I was looking for!"

Just then, the Majestics came and Oliver saw the mess that he made. "Whoa! What happened here? Why are all these books on the floor?"

Enrique smirked. "Starting a library habit, Lee?"

"It's none of your business," he spat. "Let's go, you guys."

"Aren't you going to clean up this mess at least?" Kevin wondered. He regretted asking that when he gave him his death glare. 

"If you're bothered by it so much, why don't you clean them yourself?!"

Tremble. "Just asking, Lee! No need for you to get mad!"

Their friends chuckled at their petty quarrel, and it was then that Gary noticed: "Gary don't see Mariah anywhere…"

"You mean that hot pink-haired babe?" the Italian whistled, remembering Mariah's cute face. 

~SLAM! CLASH! BAM!~

Enrique was hit on the face with a large geography book, an atlas, and a recipe book. "Ow~! Ow! And another OW!"

"Watch it, you maniac!" Lee, Kevin and Gary chorused. Oliver and Robert took a few steps back and assisted Enrique, lifting the books off his face. "Are you alright?" Oliver asked worriedly.

"By the look on his face, I'm sure he's not," Robert replied for him. The lad received a bleeding nose, a red face and a pair of swirly eyes. "@-@…" 

 "It's his fault – wait! Mariah!" Lee caught sight of their female teammate running away like crazy. She halted when she heard her name, and looked at him with such terrified eyes. "What the -!? What happened?"

"No…" was all she uttered in response and fled from everyone's sight. The rest shrugged and everything went back to how it was before. Except Lee, that is. 

_What's the matter with her?_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

Inside the Tigers' dark room, Mariah was leaning against the door, taking in heavy breaths. Her eyes were still wide with shock.

"What the heck was that? I'm sure that I was the only person in that room…I don't like this…" Pulling her knees close to her chest, she grabbed her hair at the sides and shut her eyes tight, trying to erase the fear that was still creeping into her bones. "I don't like this at all!"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

James was interrupted in his paperwork when his office doors burst open, and in between them Tani stood, eyes flashing with determination. Behind him were the security guards that were trying to hold him back earlier. Shocked by his sudden presence – or make that comeback – he was unable to respond for some time. Within the next few seconds the two men exchanged gazes.

"We're deeply sorry about this, Mr. President!" the guards apologized. "We tried to warn him that he can't enter in here without an appointment but he won't listen!"

Tani shot them again a glare, before turning his attention to the man in front of him. "Well, it's nice to see you again, James Watt. Remember me?"

"Hey you!" one of the guards exclaimed. "You have no right to call him that! Show some respect, young man!"

"Chi…" he spat. "You still don't have a clue who am I?" He grabbed the guard by the collar and lifted him so that he's face to face with him. "You should be the one who must show respect to me!"

"Why you bastard!"

"Enough!" James cried and slammed his palms down his desk. "That's enough! Put him down, Tani! They're just doing their job!"

Now when they heard that name, they all backed away. "Tani?!"

"Yes," the old man replied. "He's Tani Brown, my ex-student." He waved a hand lazily to them. "Go back to your posts now."

They all saluted and followed suit. Tani closed the door gently and sat opposite his former teacher. "It's been a long time, James. This building hasn't changed a bit, I see…" His brown eyes trailed down to the stick of tobacco that was on the ash tray. "And I can see that your smoking habit hasn't disappeared."

"Well you know what they say, 'Old habits die hard'." He chuckled lowly before resuming his paperwork, looking at him occassionally. "So, when were you released?"

"4 years ago James…4 long years ago." Tani was offended by this a bit, but he just shrugged the thought off. "Oh well, I understand your judgement perfectly. You have your reasons right?" Slamming his palms on his desk, he stood up briskly and leaned at him. "Because I was the one who brought shame onto this institution! Am I right?"

Mr. Watt stayed cool despite his outbursts. "…."

"Don't ignore me, James!"

"Are you trying to tell me that you came all the way here just to blame me? Now this is so unlike you. Why don't you go straight to the point instead?"

"What the – fine!" Tani slumped back onto his chair. "I've heard of the incident regarding one of your guests, the world-famous European beyblader Johnny McGregor. And I think I can lend a hand into solving that case…what do you think?"

"You have any clue as to who did that to him?"

"I have my theories," he replied, playing with the locks of his hair. "But that will be confidential. If you'll allow me to stay here for a while, I'll make sure that the case will be solved before that kid will be released from the hospital."

Tani's offer gave James deep thoughts. "Okay," he finally answered after a long 2 minutes. "I'll accept your offer. But make sure that the case will be solved. Is that clear, Tani Brown?"

He smirked and rose from his seat. "Affirmative."

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

"So, someone's here to investigate Johnny's case…" Devlon thought to herself. She happened to pass by the office when she heard Tani's outburst just a while ago. "Someone's sticking his nose where it doesn't belong…hmm…it's time that I make my move! 

_Hmmmmm…"_

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~***

"Damn, that James is as gullible as ever!" Tani mentally cried, getting out of the office. "Eh?" 

A young girl around the age of 17 stood in front of him, looking at him with those crystal blue eyes. "Hello?" she asked sweetly.

"Uh…hi." _This girl looks exactly like Sam! _

"Are you a friend of the president?" she asked, feigning innocence.

"Uh…yeah. And who might you be?"

"I'm one of the students in this facility. The name's Devlon Jean! And you are?"

The young man looked at Dev's extended hand and took it. "It's Tani Brown. I'm James' former student. So, uh…gotta get going now. It's nice to meet you, Devlon. Well, see ya around!" He waved his hand goodbye and walked away. Devlon in the meantime just stood there and looked at him maliciously, in her mind a plan has already been set…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

There you have it! Sorry if it's short, but I'll promise that I'll make up for it in my next chappy! Not to mention that neither Kai nor Rei appeared in here…lol! Quite a cliffhanger there, don't'cha think? The big question right now is, "What is Devlon planning??" (smirks) 

**Tani: ***blinks*

**Reon: ***looks @ Tani* Since when did he arrive?

**D: **Just a while ago…^________^

**Samantha: **- . -;

**Devlon: **:-D

**Kai: ***after finally escaping from his fangirls* Glad that's over… -.-U

**Rei: **Read and review please!! :-3

**__**


	11. Making Plans in the Dark

**MISTY ~** by: D'Mistrez02

**Author's notes: **Yoshi, it's been a while! I hope you guys haven't forgotten this story yet! ^^;

**Reon: **Yeah, you're the one who forgot instead, Dark.

**Tyson: **But hey, what's with the new nick? I like DarkTwilightZero better!

**D: **It's much shorter than the previous one. Any more questions? (glares)

**Max: **What's with the "D"?

**D: **I believe that my little sister mentioned it a bit earlier.

**Everyone: **Ooh…

**Kai: **Can we just get on with the story?

**D: **That's what I was about to say, Kai-boy. (Kai: Grr..) Hehe, been watching Yugioh a bit too much. Oh, before I forgot I just wanna greet my new reviewer, whisper*to*imaginary! (waves (*^__________^*) )

**Reon: O.O! **_The _whisper*to*imaginary? The one who wrote "Tourniquet"?

**D: **^__^ Yep, the one and only! That's the first yaoi fic that I ever liked! Thanks for making my story a part of your favorites lists, whisper-sama; I'm really honored! (bows) Okay, so without further ado, I hereby present the next chapter. Itadakimasu! 

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

**Chapter 10: Making Plans in the Dark**

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~**

"Eh? What's up with Mariah?" Ray asked Lee. They were in the gardens of the facility and the latter told the former about Mariah's strange condition. 

Lee sighed upon remembering the situation. "She became phobic for no good reason. Ever since then, she won't talk to anyone of us…"

"She's scared of something," Kevin piped in, "but we don't know what it is cause she doesn't want to tell us!"

Ray frowned, and crossed his arms. "So you're telling me to try to talk to her?"

Lee nodded. "You're our last resort, Ray. Please help Mariah." Ray stood from his seat in the garden's bench and went back inside…

Mariah, in the meantime sat in the farthest, darkest corner of their room hugging her knees in fright, while surveying her surroundings. She was shaking with fear. 

The sound of the windows bursting wide open caught her by surprise. As the white curtains fluttered mercilessly against the wind, her cat-like senses saw a young woman, almost transparent, standing in the other side of the room. Her face was hidden behind her long hair, but even though…she was sure…

That woman was looking at her…

"W-who are you?" she stuttered. "Answer me!"

The woman said nothing, instead she just chuckled sending chills down her spine. "Don't just snicker! Answer my question!"

"Are you afraid?" she replied, almost like a whisper.

Mariah's eyes widened. "What?!"

"You're shaking with fear, my dear mountain cat." She advanced closer to her, more like floating above the floor rather than walking slowly. "Your heartbeat's racing…your pupils are dilating…cold sweat trickles down your face…"

"No, stay back!" Mariah pushed herself away. Shw waved her hands, trying to make her go away. "Leave me alone!!!"

"Genuine fear…" she hissed, and advanced closer…and closer…

~KNOCK KNOCK~

"Mariah, are you in there?" Ray called from outside. His fist was against the hard wood of the door, and was hoping that the girl would open the door quickly. 

~KYAAAAAA!!!~

_Her voice! Sick with worry, he banged on the door. "Mariah, what's going on in there! Answer me! Mariah!" When no reply came, he did the next thing that flashed in his mind – _

~BLAG! CRASH!~

Ray kicked the door down, and immediately flicked the lights. 

~CLICK~

What greeted him was a scene of mass destruction. The curtain rods were knocked off their holders, the mattresses were in disarray, the vases were all destroyed, and in the middle of them all…was the pink-haired beyblader sobbing hysterically, her hands on either sides of her head. "No! Leave me alone!!"

"Mariah!" He quickly went beside her. "Mariah, it's me! It's me, Ray!" She threw herself into his arms and sobbed even more..

"I'm scared! I'm so scared Ray! That woman won't leave me alone! I've never been so scared in my entire life!"

"Ssh. It's going to be okay. I'm here now, everything's going to be alright." With that said, Ray hugged Mariah closer to him.  

Something's not right here…and it's starting to disturb us big time…I need to check this out…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, is Mariah doing okay now?" Max asked Ray. It was only a matter of time before the news reached the ears of the other teams. Almost all of them were worried about their friend, fearing that she might come next to Johnny. When Ray heard that, he only said one thing…

"NO! I won't let that happen!"

"Hey, chill buddy; we won't let that happen either!" Tyson said with a smile. Max and Kenny nodded while Kai just said nothing.

"Thanks, guys."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

While all of these were happening, Tani was at the balcony of his room, gazing at the sunset scenery in front of him. "It's been a long time…and now I'm back to face my worst nightmare ever…" He drank the remaining wine that was in his glass before staring back again.

"Penny for your thoughts, Mr. Tani?"

He looked behind him to see Devlon smiling sweetly at him. "It's you."

"You look so stressed. How about sharing your thoughts with me? Is it okay with you?"

He frowned. "And just why do you care so much? First of all, this is none of your business."

"We're a family in this facility. After all, you're a former student here right?" She rested her arms on the balcony, standing beside him. 

Tani chuckled at this. "Family? You've got to be kidding me. We're never a family, Devlon. Never were, and remember that."

"But that's what Mr. Watt's been telling us ever since we came here."

"Then that man was just lying to all of you." _How could he tell them that we are a one big family after he threw me into the asylum in the first place?  "That son of a bitch…"_

"Hn?"

"Nothing," he immediately said and left the place. "I'm going somewhere else. See you later."

Tani left the room, leaving Devlon thinking to herself. "Never a family, eh? Hn…you can say that. Yet this was all your fault from the beginning, Mr. Brown, and the time has come for you to face the worst of consequences." 

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Back at the White Tigers' room…

"I'm going to get some food for a while, Mariah. Want me to get something for you?" Kevin asked her, who was feeling a little better and relaxed. "Hmm…I guess a little fish would do (A/N: Rest assured that it's cooked, I don't want Mariah to get sick! ^^;). Thanks Kev."

Kevin nodded and left the room. Mariah sighed and hugged the pillow beside her, thinking about the little incident with Ray. "He said that it'll be alright cause he's here…" The statement made her blush. "Ray…"

When suddenly, the lights were turned off, bringing back that eerie feeling that the girl's back to haunt her again…unfortunately, the fiend didn't disappoint her. It all happened so fast, the poor young beyblader wasn't given the time to scream, or to shout for help…within the next few seconds, she flopped down on the soft mattress of the bed, her eyes a complete blank. The pillow was thrown below the bed…

…while a figure stood in the room, hiding amongst the shadows. "Aren't you going to kill her?" it asked.

Wisps of white smoke started to gather inside the room, and they combined to form one figure, a figure that the person knew so well…_"No, of course not. I can still use her for my next plans…she's very useful, and I can manipulate her easily, thanks to the fear that resided within her."_

"What about the others?"

"That's why I'm using this pretty mountain cat." She floated next to her and stroked her hair, twirling some of them around her fingers. " I can get them without taking the blame for it."

"Oh yeah." The figure walked towards her, as the remaining lights illuminated her face to reveal none other than Devlon. "Have you already known about Tani Brown's return in this building? You can kill him now first."

"Tani?!" 

"He's the one who killed you in the first place right?" Devlon smirked and tossed a strand of hair behind her back. Her lips formed a sly smile, smirking at the ghost. She crossed her arms, "Tani's out to hunt you down, Samantha. He's willing to put all of him at stake just to prove to the higher authorities that you're behind everyone's accidents."

_"Revenge…that's why he's here…he still hasn't forgotten the taste of my fury 10 years ago…hn, like anybody will believe him anyway. Even so…"_ Samantha cackled lowly and gestured to Devlon. _"I want you to delay his movements for a while…for now, I must take care of the other beybladers…it's a big mistake for them to accept James' invitation in the first place."_

She shrugged her shoulders. "Just like the old saying, 'Curiosity kills the cat'!" Devlon's happy face changed into a serious one. "I'll do as you say…just don't forget our deal okay?"

_"I'm a woman of my word…"_ Then, in the blink of an eye she disappeared. The girl took a deep breath before taking a glance at her surroundings. She can see pretty well in the dark, and she perfectly figured Mariah's condition just by looking at her body. She made sure that the latter was tucked neatly into her bed, pulled the covers on her, picked up the pillow that she threw and closed her eyes with her palm. After that was finished, Devlon exited the room leaving no trace of her stay inside.

~Meanwhile…~

A wave of aura swept past Ray, and it caused him to drop Driger on the floor. Tyson and the others looked at him with surprise. "What's wrong, Ray?"

"I have this bad feeling…" his golden eyes glanced at the wall, bearing in mind that opposite that wall is the White Tiger's room. "Mariah…" he said to himself.

"If it makes you feel better, you can go check up on her," Kai's serious voice seemed to give Ray some relief. It seems that their leader already has a clue as to what he's thinking about. Ray gave a smile, then left the room. The others could hear the sound of the door of the next room opening, Ray's footsteps and a little conversation…and by the sound of the voice, it sounded like he's talking to Kevin. 

"And as for you guys," Kai turned his attention back to his teammates, "don't forget that you still have some training to do tomorrow. Hit the beds…now!"

The only reply that Kai received was an "Aww, man! Come on!" from Tyson. "Can't we stay awake for a bit longer?!"

"Got anything against it?!" he threatened.

"I'm not sleepy yet!"

"Well I'd be happy to help you!" Cracking his knuckes proved to be effective, as Tyson hopped onto his space and snoozed the time away. Max laughed and Kenny's face faulted (face faults…aniweiz, you get the idea) before going to sleep themselves.

"Stupid idiots…"

**~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ **

Well, that's all for today! I've decided to save the good stuff for later chapters! Weeeee!! This is going to get interesting!!! Devlon and Samantha…partners!? Haha!! :-)

**Ray: ***trembles lightly* Oh no…is Mariah dead?! Tell me! Is SHE dead?!?!

**Tyson: **Yeah! Is she?!

**White Tigers: **First it's the Majestics, now it's us. What the hell is wrong with this author?!?!

^^; Look at the bright side, ya guys! At least you now have the spotlight! I'll give fair chances to the other teams in later chapters, so that means that this story still has a long way to go! I haven't got to the part of the All-Starz yet…

**Lee: **You're going to victimize one of them too?

**Kenny: **Now that's just plain evil…(thinks of Emily) (=^_^=)

Why, thank you! (*^_^*)

**Johnny: **=.=; I hate her…

**Everyone: **(ish taken aback) Kyaa! You're alive!!!

**Johnny: **=.=; I was never dead, you bakas…sheesh…but thanks to that maniac, crazy authoress, I finally have my long-awaited vacation, soo…it's off to the beach!! (is now in his swimming trunks, and laughs out loud [LOL!] ) Smell ya laterz! (disappears from the scene)

**Mariah: **(tugs D's sleeve, and points to herself) So does that mean I'll get a vacation too?

**Ray: **O.O! That can't be a good sign…

Unfortunately, I still need you for the next chappies, so…no. (turns to readers) Time to review, guys! From this point on, I'm going to reply to your reviews, so send them in! Cya next chappie!! 

  


	12. Mariah's Sorrow Part 1

**MISTY **~by: dark_oBsessiOn

==========================

**Author's Notes: **Hey! It's nice to see ya guys again! Just like I promised last chapter, I'm gonna give separate responses to each and every reviewer! So, here it is!

**Avian Lee **–You know what? Your name reminds me of my favorite rock singer Amy Lee! Hehe, I just read your past reviews…and I deeply apologize for the delay of my updates. (bows before Avian-sama). No kidding…you're really eager to see some Kai torture? (turns to readers) What do you think guys? That's one question that I'm gonna leave to y'all! Though I'm positive that a lot of Kai fans will hate to see their Kai-sama getting tortured under my supreme power!!! Lolz!!! Thanks for reviewing! I hope this next chappy will cheer ya up! ^_^

**pika318 **– Nyz (Nice), a new reviewer! Thanks a bunch pika-san! Don't worry I won't keep ya waitin' for long! Here's Chap.11, hope y'all like it!

So far, these are the only reviews that I've got! So, why don't you send in yours as well? ^__^ I'll be waiting! 

So, without further ado, I hereby present Chappy 11! Disclaimer, I don't own Beyblade, kapeesh? Good. Oh, I forgot to mention that I'm using the first season of the anime. I just love Kai's character design there! Not to mention Ray and the others….lolz….hehe…itadakimasu!

====================================

Chapter 11: Mariah's Sorrow (Part 1) 

====================================

~The next day…~

"Mariah? …Mariah?"

Slowly, the pink-haired beyblader opened her eyes, and it met Ray's golden ones. "…"

"Good, I'm glad you're awake. You've been sleeping for almost 10 hours now. Usually, you sleep like a log when you're not feeling well. Is something wrong?" His tone was filled with concern.

"Wrong? No…" Mariah sat up on the bed, and instantly her head began to throb. "Oww…I must've hit my head hard last night. I don't remember a thing."

Ray smiled. "Amnesia?" he joked. 

Mariah folded her arms across her chest. "Not a chance. I still remember you, after all." Looking around, she asked:  "Where's Lee and the others?"

"They're all out to do some training. Lee's been worried sick about you ever since you came out of the library terrified the other day." 

Mariah looked down on the white crumpled sheet that was covering her lower body. "So he told you the story, huh? Is that the reason why you're here?" She clenched the sheets tightly and looked at him, trying not to show any sign of sadness. "Tyson and the others must be getting worried about you; you should go back to your team now. I'm doing…I'm doing okay."

The white tiger boy took her hands into his and gazed into her eyes. "Look, even though I belong to their team I can't ignore the fact that you're not doing okay, Mariah. You're my very special friend and I just can't leave you like this…" Try as she might, Mariah can't escape those warm glaces that he was giving her. 

"I…"

"If something goes wrong, please promise me that you'll tell me right away. Okay?"

"I…" Finally, she got the courage to look away from him. "I can't." Before Ray could even respond, she backed up her answer. "Something tells me that I shouldn't include you in this. Please, you've got better things to do than to look after me. Your teammates need you more than I do." Mariah said this even though she knew very well that she was lying to herself. But it's all for a good cause. 

The next thing she knew, Ray pulled her into a hug, holding her tight. Her heart was now racing in her chest, and it became even more louder by the contact that he made. "Your safety is my first priority. Now promise me…"

Tears ran down her cheeks, and she nodded. "Un. I promise."

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"So, how's Mariah doing, Ray?" Max asked him as they were walking towards the training room, under Kai's strict orders. The slate-haired boy was already there and he told them that he will be expecting their presence five minutes after he left. When Ray heard this, he stifled a chuckle. Kai never changed.

"She's doing fine, I guess. It's clear to me that something's bothering her, but she won't tell me what it is…"

_"Something tells me that I shouldn't include you in this. please, you've got better things to do than to look after me. Your teammates need you more than I do!"_

"Oh," was what Max said. "I see. Well, I'm pretty sure that she had a very good reason why she wouldn't want to tell you."

"I hope so. But still…"

The blond boy grinned. "You really care for her very much, don'tcha Ray?"

Ray sighed. "Yeah…"

Kenny's voice interrupted their conversation. "We should hurry to the place guys before Kai chops our heads off! He expects us to be there in 5 minutes!"

"Unbelievable! Does he think that we have some sort of teleportation powers and stuff?" Tyson exclaimed and huffed. "That sourpants sure is demanding!!"

"Cool it Tyson; I'm sure Kai has his reasons!" Ray told him casually.

"Oh yeah, sure he does! He will say the same thing, the: 'The earlier I train you I earlier I leave you idiots!'!" Tyson imitated Kai's voice, which made them – and a certain passer by – laugh. "Eh?"

"It's Devlon!" Max waved to her. "Hey there!"

"Hey guys!" Devlon greeted back. "Out for some training, I suppose?"

"Yeah. Mr. Sourpants expects us down there or else we'll be in big trouble," Tyson replied and crossed his arms. "Sheesh!"

The girl giggled. "Oh yeah, has anyone of you seen Mariah? I have a few things to ask her." She looked at Ray, knowing that he perfectly knows where the girl is. "It's really important, and I need to find her soon."

Ray narrowed his eyes, _something's suspicious about her. _The way her eyes glinted when she mentioned Mariah's name…"Uh…I'm sorry but I don't know. Maybe she went exploring around the place."

_Lying to me, Ray Kon? Devlon thought. __I see, so that's your game then. "Really? Too bad."_

"But Ray, didn't you tell me earlier that she was in her r-mmph!" Ray covered his mouth before he even got to finish his statement. "Gaak!"

"Not so loud now, I smell something fishy in her!" He hissed.

"Ray…I can't – breathe!!" 

Tyson and Kenny looked at the two before turning to her. "Okay," she shrugged. "I guess I'll have to pass this opportunity then. Maybe I'll find her along the way. See ya laters!" and with a skip, she went off. _He's hiding the fact that Mariah's in her room right now…he's starting to get suspicious…_

~_Getting worried, Devlon?~_

~Samantha…~ the ghost was speaking to her telepatically, and it made her stop to a halt, just before she turned the corner to the beybladers' rooms. ~Yeah. It's about Ray. He's doubting me…~

~_That boy sure has some keen senses. Be careful of your actions okay? I don't want to mess up.~_

~Okay…but what shall we do about him?~

The spirit smiled coyly and snickered. ~_I have a plan, and it involves our precious little Mariah…_~

……….

Tani was making his way towards the library when his eyes caught sight of the black-haired prodigy standing alone in the hallway. Her arms were on both sides of her body, and she seems to be in a slump…wait…suddenly, he heard mumblings and audible whispers coming from her…is she actually talking to _herself?_

"…I got that, Samantha…" was the last word that she uttered before snapping back to reality. Instantly, she felt his presence behind her and feigned innocence. She flashed her most innocent and most harmless smile…

…which gave him the creeps…

"Samantha…" he thought, clenching his fists. "She's on the move again…" He turned his back and pretended to leave the spot, and hid behind a large marble statue. There he saw her glancing at the White Tiger's lounge before laughing to herself. "What is she planning?"

He listened more as Devlon knocked on the wooden door and anticipated for an answer. 

"Who is it?" came a girl's voice. Somehow, that voice sounded familiar…

"Mariah? It's me, Devlon remember? May I come in?" 

And the last thing Tani Brown heard was the closing of the door, and the creaking of its hinges. After that, he knew nothing else…

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

"What brings you here?" Mariah was drying her long pink hair with a towel after her bath, when Devlon came in. 

"I heard about your condition from the other beybladers," Devlon simply replied and sat on one of the vacant beds, watching her get dressed. "To tell you the truth, it made me worry a lot, so I just passed by to see if you're doing alright, Mariah. So, how are you feeling?"

Mariah slipped on a beautiful pink and white Chinese dress with a slit going up to her mid-thighs. She tied her hair into 2 neat buns and allowed her bangs to frame her heart-shaped face. She fixed her face in the mirror, glancing at her guest from there. "I'm feeling fine, I guess. Strange, but I just can't seem to remember some events that happened to me recently…amnesia I guess, but I never hit my head that hard for me to suffer such a case."

Devlon just made a face like this – O.o – cutely and ended up sitting crosslegged on the bed. She was holding both her feet as she continued to listen…

"…but even so, I consider myself lucky cause I've got so many friends that care for me." A pink shade lined her cheeks when she mentioned the word 'care'. And her guest had a pretty good idea who he was…

"It's Ray, right?"

Mariah spun around, letting some of the hair in her left odango slip from its ribbon. "Eh? H-how did you knew…I mean, how did you know that?"

"Pretty easy," and she hopped off. "I can sense that he's really close to you that it confirmed all of my suspicions. And from the looks of it, I can tell that you care a great deal for him, ne?" Devlon winked.

Mariah blushed even more and her golden eyes softened.

"Oh my god…I've been blabbering too much…and eek! My hair!" Devlon just giggled in amusement as she tried her best to fix the mess she had made with her hairstyle. 

"I gotta go now…oh, and Mariah?"

"Hmm?" she answered without looking at her.

Good for Devlon, Mariah hadn't noticed the smirk that lined her lips. "Nothing. Be careful okay?" She said that last statement almost like a whisper. "Be careful…really careful…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

SMASH! 

Kai growled in disgust as Ray's beyblade came crashing out the arena. He glared at his opponent, who looked kinda distracted himself. "What's the matter with you, Raymond Kon? Getting distracted in the middle of a battle?! This is not what I was expecting from you!!"

Tyson and the others overheard their conversation and slowed down from their practice to listen. They weren't alone in the place though – the All-Starz was there too, and so were the Majestics (well, what's left of them), and the D-Boys. All of them stopped what they were doing and listened to Kai yell his guts out.

"I…I'm sorry," was what the Chinese boy only muttered and tried to shake himself out of it. "I was just thinking of something – "

"Like what?!" He cut him off right in the middle of his statement and sent his famous deathglare at him. "Look, if you're still thinking about Mariah well let me tell you that this is not the right time for it! This is a practice session, Ray! Concentrate!"

_Mariah's condition is upsetting Ray so much…Kenny observed. He then remembered the tales that he heard…Mariah running out of the library like some freaked-out creature, and underwent isolation mode for the rest of the day. _In my opinion, it's clear that she's overreacting, but – what could give her that much fear? Can it be…__

He then remembered his encounter with Samantha's ghost days ago, and it brought chills running up his spine and made his stomach do a flip-flop like that of a fish taken out of the water. _Can it be that Mariah met Samantha as well? That's a big possibility…_

"Enough! One more time!" The two Bladebreakers prepared for launch; and Ray tried his best not to worry too much. "Let it rip!"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Ray was glad that the practice session was over. After the incident with Kai, all of the other teams are sending him curious glances and weird expressions. Luckily, in the place where he's headed, he's sure that there will be no sign of those guys. Just like he promised himself earlier…he's going to investigate Mariah's incident.

"Lee told me that she came out running from the secret files room," he thought to himself while walking towards the wide doors of the place. Just as he was about to head straight to the room, a familiar short boy caught his eye. He was standing on his toes and trying to reach a blue binder that was situated some feet high. "Darn…I can't reach it! Where are those ladders when I need them?" Kenny mumbled.

Much to his surprise, a bandaged arm reached up and took the book that he was trying to reach. He then handed it to him. "Ray?"

"Here you go, chief…" he smiled. 

"Thank you." He then adjusted his spectacles and sighed heavily. "That's why I envy you taller guys. You get to reach all the higher places without straining yourselves. I think it's timefor me to try those growth pills that they've been endorsing. I really need those!"

Ray just chuckled and tapped his shoulder, hoping that it'll make him feel better. "Don't worry chief, you still have a long way to go. You'll get taller soon."

"Yeah, but how soon?" he answered back faintly. Upon hearing this, Ray stopped walking and looked at his comrade who's in front of him, back bent due to depression. 

"What's the matter; is something bothering you, chief?"

Kenny stopped walking as well, and by this moment he was starting to whimper. "I…I don't get the attention of the ladies that I like enough because of my height. Maybe, if I grow taller then…"

"Then?" he anticipated.

He was itching to say the lady's name but he was too embarrassed to do so. "…nothing. Forget what I said. Anyways," he changed the subject, "what are you doing here?"

Ray turned to the secret files' room and glared at it as if it was an evil person smirking at them maliciously. "I came to check that room out. It's where Lee said that Mariah came running out, scared. I want to know what's in that room." Kenny could see that he was clenching his fists with determination, and he can fully understand why. His friend cared for Mariah so much! It's pretty understandable…

"Well, I'm going in. See you later, chief…oh, please don't tell Kai about this." He turned to him, his golden eyes pleading, and at the same time threatening. "He'll go ballistic if he knows about this…"

Kenny just nodded. "Okay. I understand." And without delay, the neko-jin made his way to the room… 

"Be careful, Ray…"

~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~

Yoshi, that's the first part! I'm gonna keep you guys in suspense for a while, hehe….by now, I'm pretty sure that you're wondering what will happen to Mariah, right? Here's a little spoiler: Mariah/Ray fans won't like what's going to happen! :-D

Remember that you have the power to make me post the next chappy! Review please! Thousand domos!!


	13. Mariah's Sorrow Part 2

[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
MISTY – by: dark_oBsessiOn  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Hey there, everyone! It's nice to see ya all reading my next chappy! ^_^ But before anything else, I'd like to greet and respond to the following reviewers first...  
  
SulliMike23 – Yaysers! Another new reviewer! (dances like a lunatic) Okay, enough of that...^^; Lolz, I'm honored to hear that this story keeps you clingin' to your seat! (evil grin) But you ain't seen nothing yet; the best parts are about to be revealed soon! My earliest apologies if your favorite team gets harmed in here....but it's just me – I'm EVIL! Muwahahahaha!!! *BOINK!* ~ow...  
  
Reon: *swings giant mallet onto her shoulder* Quit laughing, you're scaring the reader even more...  
  
Killjoy...but oh well. Thanks for reviewing! ^__^  
  
pika318 – Pika-san!! Nice to see ya again! ^__^ Well, I won't keep ya waiting for too long, here's the next chappy; part 2 of Mariah's sorrow! Hope y'all like it! Thanks for reviewing!  
  
Avian Lee – Hey there, nice to see ya again! I'm glad you liked that one...and rest assured about the Kai-stalking thingy and stuff...I'm saving a pretty nice treat for him...(evil grin, then does a double take and makes sure that shark boy's not around.) Whew. Good. ^_^;  
  
Samantha: (pushes dark to one side and faces Avian) R.I.P, huh!? (eyebrow twitches)I'll get you for that, mortal!!!  
  
(-.-); She's copying Yami Bakura's style too much...that's right Sam; keep it up and pretty soon Kazuki-sama will sue me for everything I've got! (yells)  
  
Reon: Speaking of which yurei-san (points to TV), Yugioh's about to start!  
  
Samantha: O.O! Oh damn! (leans closer) I'll deal with you later! (rushes to TV at the speed of lightning) Bakura-sama!!! (goes starry-eyed over the show)  
  
Everyone: (-.-);;;;  
  
Never mind her, I'll make sure that she'll stay away from you! ^____________^ Anyways, I hope you'll like this chappy! Thanks for reviewing! ^__^  
  
treachery89 – Wowzers!! Hisashiburi ne, treachery-san! (glomps her). Don't worry, I understand...I'm a student too, you know...school really sucks....ick...  
  
Devlon: (dumps dark's desk with tons of papers) And before I forgot oh dear great authoress (gags), you still have to finish these projects before the end of the month...  
  
Kai: ...and you still have homework to do...  
  
Ray: ...and quizzes to take tomorrow!  
  
(LARGE sweatdrop) See what I mean? Hehe....but I can't stop writing! ^^ Thanks for reviewin', treachery-san! And enjoy this next chappy!!  
  
So, with that finished, I present to you the next chappy. I won't repeat the disclaimer now, since by now I know you all know what I'm about to say, ne? Itadakimasu!!  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Chapter 12: Mariah's Sorrow (Part 2)  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Ray's breathing was ragged as he scanned the bookshelves carefully in hope that he will find something that might help in his mission. So far, he got nothing, besides the dust and the smoke that clouded his way for some of the documents inside were in there for decades..  
  
"Dang," he thought. "What could possibly make Mariah act like that? I don't see anything unusua - ow!"  
  
He tripped over a binder that was lying on the floor, with its pages wide open...even in the dark, he could recognize the file that was inside. "Samantha Hale's files!" he exclaimed, as the memory of that big painting in the main hall came back to his mind. "She's the blader on the painting...maybe Mariah stumbled into this too..." Without second thoughts he picked it up and read it...  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
"Hey, has anyone of you seen Ray?" Kai asked his teammates, who were resting in the comfort of their beds. Kenny immediately paled upon hearing his voice.  
  
"Oh, and please don't tell Kai...he'll go ballistic if he knows about this..."  
  
"No, we haven't." Max answered, tossing his Draciel up and down. "Why?"  
  
"It's none of your business. That's all I need to know." He then left the room, grumbling. The others just shrugged and resumed what they were doing earlier...  
  
"I need to talk to that boy regarding his issues with his former teammates," Kai thought, while walking down the stairs to the main hall. "Where could he possibly be?"  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Ray closed the binder and sighed. The information he got was surprising, to say the least...but not that helpful. He still needs to know why Mariah got freaked out after coming in here! He placed the file back onto its proper place in the bookshelf and started to exit the room, when he heard someone else in the room, shuffling through the files in the other side of the room. Anxiety quickly rushed into his system, and his adrenalin was incresed to a hundredfold. Dear God, who could that be?  
  
Slowly, he crept towards the place, and peeked very carefully...  
  
...only to bump his head on one of the loose books, causing a mass distraction in the process.  
  
The person turned his head towards the direction of the noise and slipped the book he was reading back to its proper spot. "Who goes there?!"  
  
"Oww...." Was all the neko-jin could say. When he sat back up, he was greeted by a tall man with brown hair and brown eyes staring hard down at him.  
  
"Who are you and what are you doing here?" he heard him ask.  
  
"I should ask you the same question myself." Ray stood up and brushed his pants. The stranger raised an eyebrow in recognition of the boy before him.  
  
"You're the Bladebreakers' very own Ray Kon."  
  
"Yeah...how did you know?"  
  
"I've heard a lot about you. You're that blader with the white tiger bitbeast. Why are you in here in the first place?"  
  
He tossed his long ponytail behind his back. "I'm looking for something, and it's regarding my close friend who got into trouble after she came out of here."  
  
"Ah, yes. Mariah of the White Tigers, am I correct?"  
  
Now he was getting more and more spooked. Ray narrowed his eyes. "How-"  
  
"And before you ask me how do I know again, it's because I stay in this place as well, and I know everything that's going on here. According to my sources, she went hysterical and isolated herself after an encounter with something inside this room. That's why I'm here to check it out."  
  
"Uh-huh, you know about it all right." He turned his back and started to leave, when he remembered something. "Wait...I don't know you name yet."  
  
"Just call me Tani, Ray. It was nice to meet you." He then shook his hand and left the room. "Hope to see you around."  
  
"Same here." After Tani left, he made his way towards the shelf that he was searching earlier. And as he was looking at the files in there, a blue book fell on his feet. Ray picked it up and what caught his attention is the intriguing cover. "'Misty'...wait, this is the book that he was looking at earlier..."  
  
He flipped the pages and came across the same blue ribbon that was inserted between its pages decades ago. "But why would he be so interested in this?"  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Back in his room, Tani whipped out his cellphone and called his superiors from the media company that he was working for. "Hello sir, this is Tani speaking...I just want to ask for an extension regarding my article 'The Forgotten Legend'?...yes, that one...no..." His free hand was clenched tightly. "I'm not goofing off, sir. Rest assured that my article will be a major one by the time I get back there. I swear I won't disappoint you with this!" Minutes later, he smiled and nodded. "Thank you." And with the press of the "End" button, his conversation was drawn to a close.  
  
"I'm glad those idiots reconsidered," he said to himself, taking out a cigarette from his breast pocket. He lighted the cigar and allowed his gaze to be fixed at the white wisps of smoke coming from its tip. "It won't be long until that ghoul strikes...poor Mariah."  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
And speaking of Mariah, the teen was in the training room all by herself, staring at her spinning Galux in the center. She was feeling alright now, after the incident the other day. But still...why is she feeling so nervous, like something's going to happen yet?  
  
"Remember that if there's something wrong, don't hesitate to tell me, okay?"  
  
She recalled Ray's reminder, when the latter visited her to see if she was doing alright. She shook the thought off and said, "It must only be my imagination that's giving me the creeps. I have no reason to feel like this at all!" Determined, she called back her beyblade and launched it one more time. "Let's go, Galux!"  
  
When out of nowhere, a beyblade flew into the scene, colliding with her pink blade head-on. As the two machines duked it out fiercely in the dish, the White Tiger beyblader snapped at whoever disturbed her daily training. "Why, it's you Devlon!"  
  
The black-haired girl waved back at her. "Hello! I was wondering if you wound't mind sparring with me?" She twirled a strand of her hair around her right index finger. "It's always good to practice blading with someone stronger than your own."  
  
Mariah blushed. "Oh,come on you're flattering me too much! Sure, I don't mind. Let's do it!" Her golden eyes glinted with desire to defeat her adversary. "But be warned that I don't have any intention of going easy on you!"  
  
Devlon smirked. "That's what I was about to ask you...show me everything you've got!"  
  
"Go, Galux!"  
  
"I won't lose!!"  
  
The sound of the two beyblades clashing filled the room. Both players were sweating but neither one wanted to surrender. Finally, Mariah called upon her bitbeast, and Devlon stared at it with awe. It was when that she felt a sudden surge of energy, almost like a lightning bolt, hit her. When she closed her eyes, she came face-to-face with Samantha.  
  
"What the-?! Samantha! What do you want?"  
  
She only smiled wickedly. "It's time that I handle the situation from here." She extended her right hand, and in a split second, Devlon's soul fell down. Samantha looked down on her, satisfied and delighted. It was so long ago ever since she fought a beybattle..."Now...let the fun begin.."  
  
[ ] [ ] Back to Reality [ ] [ ]  
  
"Devlon! Stop sleeping on me and open your eyes!" That was the first thing "Devlon" heard upon snapping back to reality. Mariah was shocked to see her eyes, almost emotionless and stoic. The girl gazed down at the dish, where her beyblade's on the verge of breaking into bits by Galux' continuous attacks.  
  
"Stop stalling and give me a worthy battle! Fight back Devlon Jean!" she yelled.  
  
So, Mariah thinks that I'm still that brat, Devlon...Samantha laughed inwardly before focusing all of her energy on the almost trashed beyblade. "I'll show her that I'm stronger! Arise, my beyblade! Fight back!!"  
  
Mariah gasped as the beyblade regained stability and countered her attacks. She beamed with joy. "There! Finally I'm getting what I'm asking from you! But it's too late to make any fancy moves now; your attack ring's going to give way soon! Final attack Galux! CAT SCRATCH ATTACK!!"  
  
Galux cried its signature mountain cat cry, and jumped up, ready to strike. "Devlon" looked up slowly, looking calm than usual. When the tip of her bey's almost an inch close...  
  
"Dodge it."  
  
And it did.  
  
"What?!"  
  
The raven-haired girl smiled with pride. "Attack."  
  
Clash! Smash! Crash!! Mariah was helpless against her continuous attacks. "This is one quick recovery!" she cried. "How did you-!?"  
  
"It's time that you learn a bit from your opponents now, right?" Samantha said in her usual creepy voice. In an instant, her senses remembered that same feeling...  
  
"YOU!"  
  
"Yes me...now, I guess it's time that you should take a rest now..." With one motion of her hand, (A/N: Imagine the way Yami from Yugioh does his "Mind Crush" attack. That's exactly how Sam did it.) Mariah's consciousness was hit and she fell to the ground, eyes lifeless. Back at the battle, Devlon's beyblade took one mighty dash and slammed Galux out of the dish. It landed beside Mariah's limp body, as the opposing blade charged its way back to its master's hand. She glanced at it with satisfaction. "Good work..."  
  
Samantha soon called the body's true owner back, and the real Devlon was back to reality again. "What the-?!"  
  
"Mariah has been defeated, my dear partner..."  
  
"You...did?"  
  
"Yes, I did. Now, it's time for the real thrill to begin." Samantha floated her way towards the defeated beyblader, and stepped inside her body. Minutes later, Mariah stood up, but when Devlon looked closely, she wasn't the real thing at all...  
  
"So...how do you like my new weapon of destruction, Jean?"  
  
She smiled. "Absolutely...perfect."  
  
[ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ] [ ]  
  
Waii! Cliffhanger!!! Yep, you guessed right; there's going to be a part 3 yet!! And just like Samantha said, the fun part is yet to come!! So, I hope that you'll all be there to witness the next thrilling chappy! Who will she strike first? And what is Tani planning for her? Will Mariah be alright? Find out soon! Until then, please be so kind and post your reviews! Thousand domos, minnasan! Ja ne! ^__^ 


End file.
